Fated
by sciencefreak330
Summary: Danny's cousin moves back to Amity Park after five years, but when she reveals her darkest secret to him, how will it ultimately affect Danny's fate? Post PP. DxS and small TxOC. T for character deaths in later chapters and just to be safe.
1. A Weird Day

**Hi you guys, I'm back! I tried posting this story before, but I completely massacred it, so now this is the new and improved version. The story is still the same, but I completely revamped this chapter to make it a little better.**

**Some basic story details you should know: ****There will be original characters and least one will play an important role (Please don't hurt me!). But the story is still centered on Danny and Co., and will remain canon to the series. ****The timeline is that this is post Phantom Planet, and they are all fifteen and Sophomores, except for Jazz who is seventeen and a Senior. Phantom Planet took place about mid-November. Also, ****I have a lot of schoolwork this year so my updates will be sporadic and may take a while. However, I promise this story will get done eventually!**

**This first chapter is basically a prologue and tells what happened after Phantom Planet. It is told in Danny's point of view. The rest of the story will be told I the third person omniscient unless I say otherwise.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom. That wonderful work of genius belongs to Butch Hartman. However, you may pretend that I do if it makes you happy. This is my blanket disclaimer for the whole story.**

**Yay, now we can get started!**

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Chapter 1: A Weird Day 

A lot has happened since the Disasteroid incident a week ago. For one thing, now both my human and my ghost self are world famous. After I saved the world, I kind of told the entire world my secret. I can't leave my house without being mobbed by phangirls (they actually call themselves that), but that's okay because it means that most people, including my parents, accept me. Oh, and Tucker's now the mayor of Amity Park. After Vlad disappeared, we needed a new mayor so I jokingly nominated Tucker anonymously. No one knows how it happened, but he actually won the election against our previous mayor and became the "World's Youngest Mayor" at the age of fifteen. Yeah, Sam and I were shocked, too.

Speaking of Sam, she's my girlfriend now! I finally told her how I felt last night during the ceremony for the unveiling of the statue of me in front of City Hall and in every other major capitol in the world. I gave her the ring and everything, so it's official, we're a couple. My parents and Jazz were really happy when they found out. Tucker was so excited about it when he found out that he wouldn't shut up about it all day. It's thanks to him that the rest of the school found out…

_Flashback:_

_The hallway was so full that no one could get through. Danny was beginning to get frustrated about having to fight through the crowd in order to get to his next class while still holding onto Sam. They hadn't even gone more than halfway through the crowd when they heard Tucker's voice directly behind them shout out, "Hey! Let the man and his girlfriend through!"_

_Everybody just stopped, and stared at the couple. It was only for half a second but to Danny and Sam it felt like forever. Then the entire school began cheering as bets were being paid up all around them._

_Four hours later…_

_Tucker was backed into a corner by Danny and Sam. The dismissal bell had just rung and he hadn't had the chance to run before they caught up to him. Tucker looked up at his two friends, both of whom had a very evil-looking grin on their face._

"_I'm sorry I told everyone you were dating just please don't… No, anything but that! No, NO!!!!" Tucker's screams resounded throughout the now empty school, much to Danny's and Sam's pleasure._

_End Flashback_

Today was my first day back to school since I revealed myself, and it was far from ordinary. Besides Tucker proclaiming my relationship status to the entire school, a lot happened. It all started when I walked in this morning to outstanding applause– for me. I had only ever seen this in movies, so it was really weird. Then Mr. Lancer offered me a clean slate because of what I had done, plus the fact that my behavior and performance makes sense now. I was really happy about that. And, to make the whole day seem like something from a bizarre dream, Dash asked to be my body guard. Honestly, I cracked up as soon as he asked he asked. He's been torturing me daily since the sixth grade, why would I trust him to _protect_ me? So, I turned him down.

The most noteworthy part of the day, however, happened during lunch. Valerie came up to our table and asked if she could speak to me in private. This was weird because she has been avoiding me since she found out I was Phantom. At first I was nervous because I thought she might have tried to hurt me, but it turned out that she wanted to talk. She understandably wanted some explanations. We talked and I promised that I would tell her everything soon, and we agreed to be friends. I told Sam and Tuck about what happened and they accepted it. They weren't thrilled with it, but they accepted it.

After torturing Tucker after school, Tuck, Sam, and I decided to head my house to watch movies since we didn't have a lot of homework. I headed to my room to drop off my stuff and check my email before we watched the movie. When my inbox opened up, the first thing I saw was an all too familiar email address. It was from my cousin, Katie. I hadn't heard from her since before the Disasteroid incident, so I was really excited. I eagerly clicked the message open and read it:

Hey cuz! 

_How's it going? Well, I guess it can't be going that bad since you're a World Hero now! I can't believe it! We are going to have a nice, long conversation about this soon. Seriously, I want to hear __everything._

_I'm sorry I haven't talked to you in like, three weeks, but we've been so busy lately! First, with the whole "asteroid destroying the world" thing and now all the packing, it's been really hectic around here. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we're moving! Guess where? I'll give you a hint: I lived there until I was 10. That's right, we're moving back to Amity Park! We're even moving back into our old house! Our tenants decided to move to the countryside where it was more peaceful, so we're going to live next door to each other again, isn't that great! We're moving back right before Christmas Break, and I'll be going to Casper High with you starting second semester. I'm so excited! I can't wait to see everybody again._

_Oh, that's Dad, he needs help moving a box. No offence, but what's the point of having a little brother if he won't help with the heavy lifting? Anyway, I'm sure Uncle Jack will tell you everything soon. See you in a few weeks! Oh, and say hi to Tuck, Sam, Jazz and Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie for me!_

_-Katie _; p

I couldn't believe it, Katie was moving back! We were really close when we were younger, but then she moved to Cairo with her parents. We were still close, and she visited a lot, but I haven't seen her since right before I got my powers. I can't wait to tell Sam and Tucker about this. This has definitely been one really strange, but very good day.

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**So, that's my first chapter. Wow, this one is a lot better than the first version. Please review! Constructive criticism and all comments are welcome! Thanks for reading and giving me a second chance at this story!**


	2. Reunion

**Finally, you get to meet Katie! Yay! This is where the story really starts, so it's going to be a bit more interesting than the last chapter. It starts off a little slow, but it picks up later, I promise! Enjoy!**

**I would like to give a special shout-out to OrangeScissors, my first and only reviewer. Thanks again and a giant plate of virtual cookies for you! Sorry about my vague reply, but I seriously can't give you straight answer without ruining the ending. **

Italics are thoughts. 

Chapter 2: Reunion

Danny waited anxiously outside of the Customs office at Amity International Airport. _Their plane unloaded an hour ago, where are they?_ He was getting increasingly nervous. He was excited to see his cousin again, but the wait was unnerving. Finally, he saw people exiting from customs and running to get a good spot along the baggage claim belt. He saw everyone but the five people they were looking for until…

"DANNY!" The teenaged girl who yelled his name jumped on him before he could he even turn to look at her, and they both fell to the ground, laughing.

"Danny! I missed you so much! I can't believe it's been over a year! So much has happened! I mean, you're a world hero now, who would have thought it? We have a lot of catching up to do, and I'm about to start rambling so say something!" She said this all very fast and excitedly.

Danny got up, and pulled his favorite cousin into a hug. "I've missed you, too! You're right; we do have a lot of catching up to do. I have no idea what you've been up to other than from your emails, and those haven't told me much."

Finally, the two teens let go of each other long enough to get a good look at one another. "Wow, look at you," Katie said playfully, "you're not the little shrimp you were the last time I was here." Danny was now just a few inches short of six feet tall and, thanks to the constant ghost fighting, was not as gangly as he used to be.

"Thanks! And you, you've, umm, grown… a lot." He slowly surveyed his cousin from top to bottom. The last time he had seen her, she was kind of short and still in her awkward stages of puberty. Now that he saw her for the first time since then, it was obvious that she had outgrown that phase. She was roughly the same height as him, and she had a gymnast's body. Her raven hair fell down to her shoulder blades and she had side bangs. She was wearing blue flats, dark blue jeans, and a light blue T-shirt coupled with a matching headband, both of which matched her eyes, the same bright blue eyes as the cousin staring at her.

"Thanks," she said, blushing just a little. "Hey, where are our parents? In fact, where's our entire family?" The two teens searched the area high and low, until they finally found their families. They were too busy greeting each other to notice that their families had already met up and were at the baggage claim fighting the crowd in order to retrieve the numerous bags Katie's family had brought with them. The two teens headed over there to go lend a helping hand. Thankfully, most of the crowd was gone by the time they got there.

They spotted their family by the start of the belt, waiting for just a few straggling pieces of luggage that just wouldn't come out. It wasn't hard to find them, being that you would have to be as blind as a bat in order to miss Jack Fenton's bulky frame.

"Danny! Katie! There you two are! We thought we'd lost you!" Danny's father called enthusiastically. "Katie, come with me so that we can catch up and I can talk to you about ghosts!"

"Uh…okay," she timidly answered, "sure."

"Do you need any help?" Danny asked to be polite as Katie was pulled away by his father.

"No thanks Danny, we've got it. There are just a couple of pieces left to…" Katie's father stopped mid sentence and did a double-take before turning to his nephew. "Danny! How's favorite little nephew doing?" He asked as he ruffled Danny's already untidy black hair. "Although, I can't exactly call you little now, can I? You're almost as tall as I am!"

"It's great to see you, too, Uncle Chris. Where's everyone else?"

"Oh, they're over there with the rest of the luggage. They thought it would be a good idea to stay out of the way while we picked up the luggage. Why don't you go say hi to them while I try to get whatever's left."

"Okay, thanks!" Danny answered enthusiastically as he started heading over toward where the rest of the family was chatting amiably. Katie hadn't joined them yet and probably wouldn't for a while since his father could ramble on and on about ghosts for hours.

His sister was the first of the group to see him coming, and she waved him over enthusiastically.

"Danny!" His Aunt exclaimed as she pulled him into a hug, "How is everything! I haven't seen you since the last time I brought Katie down which was…wow, nearly four years ago! You've grown a lot since then, I barely recognize you! Look at you; you've become such a handsome young man."

Danny blushed deeply out of embarrassment. "Thanks Aunt Jen," he shyly said as he looked up at his aunt. Jennifer Fenton was a tall, middle-aged, green-eyed woman who was very fit due to the constant exercise her job had required. Her shoulder length brunette hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she was brimming with excitement at finally being home.

"Hey Danny," he suddenly heard behind him "what about us?"

Danny turned around to see the owner of the voice, his younger cousin Jake. Jake was twelve years old and had his father's black hair and his mother's green eyes. He came up to about Danny's chest height wise.

"Yeah, how about saying hi to your two favorite cousins?" This time it was Jake's fraternal twin sister, Alex that spoke. Alex, short for Alexandra, was the same height as her brother, but she had long brown hair and blue eyes. She was tomboy at heart, and her baggy jeans and tee shirt proved that.

"Oh, hey you guys. I didn't see you. What's up?" He asked them happily. Danny spent next spent the next few minutes having a friendly talk with them. They talked about school and stuff, but Danny didn't get into it too much. He liked his other two cousins and got along with them pretty well, but he just doesn't have the same relationship with them that he has with Katie.

"So have these two tried to give you blackmail on me yet, or have they actually been behaving for once?" Speak of the devil, Katie had somehow managed to escape her uncle and came with Jazz to join in the fun.

"Hey!" protested Alex, "we always behave!"

"Oh, really? Because I now have a website devoted to my diary that says otherwise." Katie bitterly replied.

"Hey kids! We're ready to go, so let's get a move on!" Katie's father informed them. As they were leaving, Christopher Fenton was talking with his older brother. As they walked side by side, you can see how different these two brothers were. They both had the same graying black hair, the same bright blue eyes, though Chris had thin wire-rimmed glasses covering his, and the same happy-go-lucky attitude. But, where Jack was extremely tall, bulky, boisterous, and "hands-on", Chris was average tall, thin, had a quiet air about him, and more studious. Despite their differences, these two acted like best friends.

* * *

After fighting the crowd of Danny's admirers, they finally got into Danny's house. They decided not go get the bags until the crowd was gone because, let's face it, who would want to go through that crowd again? They spent the next two hours talking, laughing, eating, and just catching up on old times. Jack and Maddie went into detailed descriptions of their new inventions while Jen and Chris talked about the discoveries they made through their archaeological digs and their work at the Cairo Museum. After dinner everyone went to the living room to talk some more (Hey, if you haven't seen good friends in nearly five years, you would be talking just as much). That is, everyone except Danny and Katie.

As everyone left to go into the living room, Danny held his cousin back. "Hey Katie, I'm going to meet Sam and Tucker. Do you want to come with me?"

"Yes, I would love to!" Katie answered enthusiastically. Katie had been very good friends with Sam and Tucker before she moved and, because she still considered them close friends, she missed them terribly.

Danny pulled her out to the house and into the dark backyard where, despite the loud crowd on the other side of the house (yes, they're still out there), it was quiet and secluded. It was here that Danny told Katie the plan. "Okay, we are meeting Sam and Tucker at the Nasty Burger. Now we have to do this my way, or else we'll mobbed by the crowd. That means we have to fly. I promise I won't drop you, but you have to stay calm, alright?"

"Cool!" Katie seemed to be really excited about the prospect of going flying and completely ignored her cousin after the word "fly".

"Let's get on out of here!" she cried excitedly. Danny turned into Phantom and got into his flying position, which looked like he was preparing to jump, and had one arm open to hold Katie. Katie forgot herself for a minute and was about to get into the same flying stance Danny was in, but the queer look from her cousin that said_ "What are you doing?"_ prevented her from doing so. Katie took the hint and stood next to her cousin, who grabbed her waist (not like that pervs!) and took off. _I'm lucky that it's dark out here or else he would have figured out what I was doing._ Katie couldn't help but think that. Katie was extremely lucky that it was dark out and Danny couldn't see her properly for another reason; if it hadn't been so dark out, he would have seen her ocean blue eyes briefly turn dark gray just before she joined him.

Soon they landed in the parking lot of the Nasty Burger. Danny transformed back into his human self, thankful that no one was out there at the moment. Even though he no longer had a "secret identity", he still worried about changing between identities, but for a completely different reason than before. Now he didn't like switching between Fenton and Phantom because of the crowd that formed whenever he did so. Thankfully that wasn't a problem tonight.

"So, how did you like flying?" Danny questioned as they headed toward the Nasty Burger doors.

"It was great! Thank you!" Katie happily replied.

"I'm surprised you didn't freak out." Danny commented with a slightly surprised, yet amused, tone. "Tucker nearly had a heart attack the first time he went and Sam almost killed me after I took her."

"Yeah well I'm kind of used to…" Katie stopped mid-sentence, preventing her from saying something she may regret, "…being high up." _That was a close call, I almost slipped up! _She calmly continued, "I mean have you seen how high up some of those Egyptian ruins are? Man those people liked to build their stuff high! Hey, first one to the register is a rotten egg!" She said as she started sprinting toward the doors.

"Hey, wait up!" Danny yelled from behind her as he ran after her.

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"Welcome to the Nasty Burger, Home of the Nasty Burger, May I take your order?" The African American girl working behind the register repeated this line in the same bored tone for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight. Valerie knew she needed the job to pay for college, but being this bored had to be considered cruel and unusual punishment. As she handed the meal order to whatever customer she had just repeated the same old line to, she stared at the doors, hoping for something to come in and give her a break from the mediocrity. Finally, she saw a girl with black hair and blue eyes race toward the register, a smile and a laugh on her face. Soon afterward she saw Danny come in, and her spirits lifted._ Maybe tonight won't be so bad._ Valerie long ago got over her crush on Danny, but she was good friends with him now that he truthfully explained everything. Well, her spirits were lifted until she realized that Danny was here with the unknown girl who had just reached the register.

"I win!" the girl shouted.

"That wasn't fair! You had a head start!" He pouted playfully.

"Come on Danny, stop being a sore loser and order the food."

"Ugh! Fine," he gave in. He then turned to face the cashier, and was surprised to see Valerie. "Hey Val, you're working tonight?"

"Yeah, Bill called in sick so I had to take over. So who is this?" Valerie was suspicious of this new girl. Danny obviously liked her as more than just a friend, but it seemed to be more along the lines of the sibling-like relationship he has with Danielle rather than like-liking her. Still, she couldn't be sure.

"Oh right, this is my cousin, Katie. Katie this is Valerie, she's a friend of mine."

A sigh of relief escaped Valerie's lips and she smiled for the first time all night. "So you're the famous Katie Danny's been talking about for the past three weeks. It's nice to meet you."

"Same here. It's nice to know Danny's starting to make new friends," Katie said as they amiably shook hands. She shot Valerie a friendly smile, glad to see whatever tension there was just moments ago disappeared.

"Okay… so let's order! We'll have two Nasty Burgers, two large Nasty Fries, and two large sodas." Danny ordered quickly and without even a glance at the menu, indicating just how many times he had been here.

"Actually," Katie started apprehensively, "make that one burger." She saw Danny give her a quizzical look, so she simply answered "I can't eat meat, every time I do I get a really bad allergic reaction."

Danny was very, very confused. "So, you're a vegetarian like Sam now?"

"Not by choice!" the girl desperately tried to defend herself, "I mean, I can eat meat, but if I do I'll spend the rest of the night in the restroom, and I doubt either of us will find that fun."

"Here's your meal and your total is $11.25. Have fun you two, and I'll come join you when my shift is up in about an hour." Valerie said as she handed Danny the meal. He then paid, and found Tucker in a booth near the back, trying not to get noticed. Apparently, Tucker's new-found celebrity status was starting to get to him.

"So, who are hiding from?" Danny questioned playfully.

"Everyone!" Tucker exclaimed. "It's weird; everyone wants a piece of me. I have tons of girls chasing after me and I can't even enjoy it!"

"You have tons of girls chasing after you? Wow, I really have been gone a long time," Katie said, slightly amused.

"Oh very funny Katie," Tucker replied sarcastically before turning to face his old friend.

"Hey, how'd you know it was me?"

"Easy. First, you and Sam are the only my only friends who are girls, and you obviously weren't being mean. Second, because you are not flirting with Danny ("Hey!" Danny angrily cried when he heard that little comment), you are obviously not Sam. Therefore I was only left with one option."

"Gee, you couldn't just say 'Because I would recognize that voice anywhere,' or some other cheesy comment?"

"I could, be what would be the fun in that? Not only that, but cheesy comments are Danny's thing."

"True." Katie was chuckling slightly as she sat down. "Ah," Katie happily sighed as she relaxed in her booth seat, "It feels great to be back here, permanently for once." She was in a state of bliss, for she was finally home. She was sitting next to Tucker and across from Danny. She had a strange feeling that the seat next to her cousin rightfully belonged to Sam, even though as far as she knew they were still avoiding their feelings for each other, so she left it open for her.

"You know," Tucker started to say in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, "if you need to get reacquainted with Amity Park, it would be my duty as the mayor to show you around." Katie's reaction was quite unexpected. She started laughing hysterically because to her that was such an outrageous statement.

"Very funny, Tuck!" she said as her laughter started to calm down. "I mean, I know I've been out of the loop for a while, but a fifteen year-old kid, mayor? You can't expect me to actually believe that." As soon as Katie saw the confused and slightly hurt expression on her friend's face, her laughter died instantly. "Oh my God, you're serious." Katie was absolutely mortified. "Tucker, I am so sorry! I didn't mean anything bad, it's just…"

"Yeah, I know. It doesn't seem real, even to me. Don't worry about it." Tucker started to regain his happy attitude and smiled. He would never admit it, but he had always had a small crush on Katie, and could never stay mad t her. It was nothing compared to the deep love Danny and Sam had for each other, and would most likely never come close to it. It was a simple crush, and nothing more.

"No offense, but how?" Katie asked curiously," I mean, it's not like most people would elect a teenager as mayor."

"That's what we're still trying to figure out." The sudden appearance of the teenage girl behind her who spoke startled Katie. That is, until she realized who the girl was. Then confusion turned to joy at having seen an old friend.

"Sam! How are you? I missed you so much!"

"I am great. It's great to see you again, too." She said this to Katie, before turning to Danny and giving him a quick, but passionate kiss. Katie's jaw promptly dropped and her mouth gaped open. This was one of the few times that Katie was at a complete loss for words.

"Sam, we've done something thought to be impossible by my entire family; we've left Katie speechless." Danny said this with a hint of amusement and self-pride in his voice, and with very good reason. Anyone who knew Katie knew that she always had something to say, so silence from the girl was a rare occurrence indeed.

Danny took a deep breath and once again spoke to his cousin, this time in a more serious tone, "Sam and I are dating. I think that's kind of obvious, but I just thought you'd like to hear it officially."

When Katie finally got over her shock, her excitement was unable to be contained. "I can't believe it!" she cried. "You guys finally did it! I thought it would take you two _forever_ to figure it out! Oh, I am just so happy for you! But, why didn't you tell me? Why didn't your parents tell me? Oh, who cares, you finally did it! I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks Katie, that means a lot," Danny's response was honest and sincere. "I'm sorry if you're hurt that nobody told you beforehand, but I asked them not to. I wanted to tell you myself in person."

"Aw, come here," Katie said as she got up and hugged Danny and Sam (yes, Katie is one of the few people who Sam will let hug her, but Katie only does it on special occasions out of respect for Sam).

They spent the rest of the night sitting around, talking and catching Katie up to speed with everything that's been going on. One highlight was how as Danny and Sam explained how they finally got together, Katie smiled at Tucker mischievously, silently reminding him of their agreement from nearly two years ago. Danny also forced Katie to reveal that she was recently forced to become a vegetarian, much to Tucker's surprise and Sam's absolute joy. Later Valerie joined them, just like she promised, and her and Katie got to know each other.

The hours flew by quickly, and before they knew it, it was closing time. Valerie headed home as Danny and Sam went to say goodnight. Soon, Tucker and Katie caught up with them, Tucker with a scowl on his face and Katie looking very smug. They all said their goodbyes and went their separate ways to get home. Danny and Katie talked the whole walk home and were actually able to walk up to their houses because by then the crowds were gone. After saying goodnight to her cousin, Katie unlocked her front door (she had managed to procure a key from her mother before she left) and went into her house happy, tired, and, unbeknown to Danny, fifty dollars richer.

* * *

**It's done!!! I've been working on this chapter for almost a month now. I hope it's good. So, how do you like Katie? Please, give me your thoughts! Oh, and if you can guess how Katie got that $50, I'll give you a prize! I made it kind of obvious, so it shouldn't be that hard, especially since it's a well-used concept. Next chapter: Christmas!**

**Thanks for reading! Please review! I'll accept anything except flames, and reviews to help me improve are greatly appreciated and needed (because this chapter, while it maybe better than the last one, sucked). Once again, thanks for taking the time to read this. Happy Thanksgiving!**


	3. Christmas Surprises

**It's time for chapter three! It's Christmas in Amity, so Happy Holidays to you all! This is just a little filler chapter that I thought would be fun to write since Katie moves back right before Christmas (look carefully at the timeline and the email in the first chapter). There's a nice, big chunk of DxS fluff in the end, just for Christmas.**

**Congrats to bubbles888, who got the answer to my challenge in the last chapter right. As a prize, you will get a sneak peek at the next chapter. For the rest of you, I will hopefully have that chapter up sometime before Christmas. As for now, here's chapter three. Enjoy and please don't forget to read and review, thank you!**

Chapter 3: Christmas Surprises

"Danny, wake up! It's _late_ Christmas morning and Uncle Jack is getting tired of waiting for you to come downstairs to see what 'Santa' got him."

_Ugh, it's too early to be having memories of Katie waking me up on Christmas morning when we were little. _Danny was still asleep and still in a dreamlike state. _Why did this stupid memory have to ruin my dream about Sam!_

"Danny," the girl's voice was teasingly threatening, "If you don't get your lazy butt out of bed now, I will force you out. Half ghost or not I can still kick your ass. Besides, your girlfriend's waiting for you downstairs."

_Wait, half ghost? This isn't a random memory? _Danny was not only confused, but annoyed. _Then what interrupted my perfect dream and… did she say Christmas? And my girlfriend? _Finally, poor befuddled Danny put two and two together. _It's Christmas! Wait, why am I still in bed?_

Danny finally woke up, eyes blinking to the bright sunlight that greeted him.

"Good morning sleepy head, it's about time you woke up!" Danny looked up to see his cousin Katie standing next his bed, a warm, bright smile plastered on her face.

"Merry Christmas, Katie. Now, do you mind letting me change?" Danny politely asked with a smile on his face. He had stood up and was walking to his dresser with a small bounce in his step.

"Okay, but hurry up! Your dad is starting to get antsy." Katie walked out of the room jovially, giving her cousin his much deserved privacy.

Faster than you can say "Happy Holidays", Danny was dressed and sprinting down the stairs. The sight that greeted him on his way down made him smile. His dad was gazing longingly at the presents under the tree while his mom tried in vain to have a conversation with the man. Meanwhile Katie, Sam, and Jazz sat on the sofa, all three of them smiling and deeply engrossed in their conversation. His aunt and uncle were chastising his two younger cousins for whatever they had done this time. It was a sight that warmed his heart.

"Danny's down! Can we open presents now?" Danny's father was brimming with excitement, and was anxious to open presents. With a curt nod from his wife, he started tearing through wrapping paper like there was no tomorrow. This was everyone else's cue that it was time to open presents. After quickly greeting his girlfriend, Danny joined the rest of the family around the tree.

Soon the space under the tree was bare, except for one gift to Katie from her parents. Katie happily snatched her last present, quickly tearing the paper off the rectangular package to reveal a thick, black leather book, the cover of which had golden hieroglyphics on it, which Danny couldn't understand. Katie, however, looked in awe at the rather mysterious gift. She opened the book and flipped through it. With the exception of a small dedication in the beginning, there were no words in the book. At least, none that most people in the room could understand. The entire book was filled with hieroglyphics like those on the cover.

"I know you probably already figured this out," Katie's smiling father said to his overjoyed daughter, "but it is a collection of all the hieroglyphics from the Temple of Isis, including that one wall with the prophecy that you were so interested in back when we were working on excavating it. We figured that by doing this you would stop taking the photos we need for our research."

"Thank you!" Katie held the heavy book in her hands as she hugged her parents, many words of gratefulness escaping her. Her parents were pleased, her siblings slightly jealous, and everybody else was just plain confused.

Alex noticed the baffled looks of the others, and decided they deserved an explanation. "Katie learned to read some of the different hieroglyphics our parents had found while we were in Egypt. She got really good at it and now she can read them as if they were written in plain English," Alex explained matter-of-factly to them, "Our parents are so proud." There was a noticeable bitterness in her voice as she said that last part. Sighs of relief escaped from everyone at finally being told what was going on. None of this was at all surprising to them because Katie had always been able to pick up other languages very easily.

The rest of the day until dinner was spent playing with the new toys and gadgets everyone had received or, in the case of the girls, showing off their shiny new jewelry and in Jazz and Katie's case, becoming completely engrossed in the pages of their new books.

* * *

"I am so stuffed," Danny moaned as he lay on the couch.

"I am, too, but it was hard for me to concentrate on the food," Katie answered bitterly. "They had to place the stupid ham in front of me! There it was, calling to me, tempting me, and I couldn't have it! Damn these food allergies!"

"Well Katie, I don't think the pig wanted to be carved and lying on a silver platter in front of you either." Sam never missed the chance to make a sarcastic comment on the consumption of animals. Apparently Christmas was no exception.

"At least it didn't try to attack you this year," Jazz offered as a piece of good news, "I still have the scars from last Christmas!"

It was about seven in the evening and everybody was in the living room trying to regain their strength after the excellent meal they had just consumed. Belts were unbuckled, bellies were rounded, and everybody was a happy victim of the languor that often occurred after eating the best of meals.

When Danny was finally able to walk again, he and Sam went up to the Ops Center to talk alone for a while.

"Sam," Danny started anxiously, "I have another gift for you. But it's not here. I have to take you to it."

"Okay, where is it?" Sam was intrigued. _Danny's usually straightforward when it comes to gifts. I wonder what it is._

"It's a surprise." Danny's tone was quiet as he apprehensively rubbed the back of his neck, his most obvious nervous habit. "Just put on your coat and trust me."

If Sam wasn't curious before, she definitely was now._ Danny seems really nervous. Now I really want to know what this gift is this apprehensive about it._

Sam did what she was told without question and as soon as she got back, Danny held her tight and flew off. They finally landed in area of the park Sam had never been to before. Before Sam could even ask what was going on, Danny led her to a big frozen clearing that Sam recognized as being the pond. As soon as she stepped out from behind the trees surrounding the pond, Sam stopped and stared in awe at what she saw. It was a giant heart made of ice, with "Merry Christmas Sam!" carved onto its surface. Now everything made sense. The nervousness, the quiet tone to his voice, the way he was so secretive about this gift, it was all clear to her now, and Sam was entirely in awe and extremely grateful for what Danny had done. This certainly was the best gift she had ever recieved.

"So, do you like it?" Danny asked Sam earnestly.

"I-I love it. I don't know what to say." Sam was still in a slight state of shock, but her complete and utter gratitude was clearly expressed in her response.

"Well then, don't say anything." And with that Danny lifted Sam's chin and kissed her. "Merry Christmas, Sam."

"Merry Christmas, Danny."

* * *

**Keep Katie's book in mind because it becomes very important later on in the story. Also, the thing about Katie being good at learning languages will be important, too.**

**So, that was chapter three, I hope you enjoyed it! Bubbles888, you'll get that sneak peek in about a week, hopefully.**


	4. The New Kid

**It's time for chapter four, yay! This chapter is the first day of school after Christmas Break, so it's around January 2 and the new year has just begun. I hope you guys like it. Please read and review, thank you!**

Chapter 4: The New Kid

"Come on Danny, let's go! I need to get there early so I can get my schedule!" Katie was starting to get impatient. She knew Danny hated going to school because of all the attention he was getting, but this was ridiculous.

"But Katie, come on! Class doesn't start for another fifteen minutes!" Danny's whining was really starting to get on Katie's nerves. Thankfully, Sam and Tucker were there to help.

"Come on dude," Tucker tried to persuade him, "the earlier we're there the less people we have to deal with. Plus it's, like, ten degrees out here! I want to go inside!"

Finally tired of watching these pathetic attempts to get her boyfriend into the school building, Sam stepped in to help. "Danny," she said softly, "If you come in with us I'll…" and she whispered something into his ear which no one else could hear. Whatever Sam had said, it had worked because Danny's electric blues lit up excitingly when she had finished.

"Let's go guys; we're going to be late!" Danny was running into school eagerly.

"What did you say to him?" Katie was in disbelief at the sudden change in her cousin's disposition. So was Tucker, who was staring at Sam, as many inappropriate thoughts of what she may have said to his friend were running through his mind.

"I just promised to do his homework for a week." Sam said nonchalantly. "And nothing else, so stop giving me that look, Tuck, or you'll have a personal meeting with my boot!" She added this a bit more forcefully in order to stop her friend from saying something relating to what, exactly, "homework" may mean. Katie just shrugged and smiled, following her cousin into the school, Sam not far behind her. Tucker didn't mention anything else as he followed his friends because he knew Sam was not one to make empty threats. However the word "lovebirds" could be faintly heard by anyone who happened to be passing by.

* * *

"And as you can clearly see the social commentaries Chaucer is trying to make in his descriptions of the travelers. Take, for example, the knight who…" Danny was beginning to fall asleep as Mr. Lancer continued to drone on about _The Canterbury Tales_. The whole class was in the same state of lassitude as Danny, with the exception of the few overeager students hanging on to his every word and taking scrupulous notes, praying they didn't miss anything. Finally a knock at the classroom door caused the class to rise from their stupor. Principal Ishiyama hurried in and, after briefly explaining her interruption to Mr. Lancer, left as soon as she came. Now all that was left of her visit was a tall girl with black hair standing shyly in front of the classroom. 

Mr. Lancer stared at the girl curiously, trying to absorb what Ishiyama had just told him. He then realized how awkward the kid must have been feeling, so he finally addressed her. "Hmm, Fenton, huh? Are you related to…?"

"We're cousins," Danny and Katie answered in unison. They figured he might ask if they were related; Fenton isn't exactly a common last name.

"Well, okay then. I'm Mr. Lancer and I teach English."

_Really? Because I couldn't tell from the big block on my schedule for this period that says "Mr. Edward Lancer- English 201". _Katie bit back her sarcasm for today, opting instead to politely say "It's very nice to meet you." It was her first day and she really didn't want to piss off any of her teachers.

"Well," Mr. Lancer addressed the now very alert and interested class, "this is Ms. Katherine Fenton. She's new here, so let's at least try to get along. Katherine, why don't you introduce yourself to the class?"

"Alright then." Katie took a deep breath. "Hi, I'm Katie, I just moved here from Cairo, Egypt. Some of you may remember me from when I used to live here," people who have lived in Amity Park for most of their lives, such as Paulina and Dash, nodded in familiarity. Katie confidently continued, "For those who don't, here's the story. I lived in Amity Park until I was ten, when my family moved to Egypt. I was home schooled for a year and a half until I went to boarding school in Cairo. Then recently we found out that my parents' biggest benefactor was an evil half-ghost who attempted to take over the world and then disappeared. So with a large chunk of my parents' funding gone, we decided to move back to Amity Park. Any questions? None? Good. Thank you Mr. Lancer."

"Thank you Ms. Fenton. You may take the seat directly behind your cousin. Now, if you turn to page thirty-three…" Katie followed the teacher's orders and sat down. Mr. Lancer continued with his lesson, but nobody was paying any attention. Katie, like every other new kid before her, became the focus of the classroom full of teens.

* * *

"So, how do you like Casper so far? Was it everything I promised you it would be?" Danny asked his cousin playfully. 

"Why yes, indeed it is. The cafeteria food tastes like it's been sitting around since last year, the teachers' lessons are just as soporific as you said they would be, and it's only lunchtime and everyone already knows who I am even though I have barely said anything since Lancer's class," Katie answered her cousin with sarcastic joy, "I am having as much fun as you said I would."

It was finally lunch, and the trio was sitting at their usual lunch table with Katie.

"Speaking of what you said in Lancer's class, I didn't know Vlad Masters was a major benefactor of your parents. Why didn't you tell us?" This question had been bothering Sam all morning. It seemed odd that Vlad would _help_ the brother of the man he loathed so much.

"You never asked, and I didn't think it was important. Besides, I'm still in shock. He always seemed like a nice guy, even if a little a weird."

"A nice guy? Vlad Masters, a nice guy? Are you nuts?!" Danny couldn't believe it. Katie was never this naïve, especially when it came to people.

"No, I'm not. He was always really nice to my family; he even paid for me to go to school. And most of the world agrees with me that what he did was surprising. What's your problem?" Katie's answer was sincere, if a little defensive. It just served to remind Danny that this creep had everybody fooled.

"I don't want to talk about it," Danny answered begrudgingly, "but I will tell you at some point, I promise."

Tucker, trying to release the tension, changed the subject. "So Katie, what do you have this afternoon?" And suddenly, the four friends were back to talking and fooling around like they were a few minutes ago.

It turned out that Katie was in every single class with at least one member of the trio. Not a minute went by where she didn't see one of them. Her locker was even right next to her cousin's. All in all, it had been a pretty good day, but that didn't stop her from thinking the final bell took way too long to ring during her last period.

After grabbing their books, the group went outside where the parted ways. Tucker went to work while Sam went to the library to do some research. That left Danny and Katie to walk home alone, which gave them time to talk.

"So Katie, was your first day as bad as you thought it would be?" Danny playfully asked his cousin.

"No, it honestly wasn't. To tell the truth, I actually think I'll like this school. One thing's for sure though, the next two and half years are going to be full of surprises." They continued to walk home, their carefree voices echoing throughout the residential neighborhood they were in. If Katie only knew what surprises were awaiting them in those upcoming years, and what secrets would be revealed, she would have been much more worried.

* * *

**So that's chapter four, what do you think? By the way, Vlad is going to become important later, so remember what Katie said. That's it for now, I'll try to post another chapter as soon as I can. Happy Holidays!**


	5. Snow Days and Valentines

**Alright, I am finally getting started on chapter five! I really should be working on my homework, but I don't want to. I am going to procrastinate and write chapter five instead. Thanks so much to bubbles888, ElusiveVisionary, and Skyheart92 for reviewing. Those reviews made my day. Without further adieu I present to you chapter five. This chapter is mainly fluff, but I really wanted to write about the last scene with this couple for a long time, and so this is the result of my longing. Please read and review, thanks! Enjoy!**

Chapter 5: Snow Days and Valentines

_Bring!!!_ The bell rang as Danny and his friends slowly trudged out of English class along with the rest of their classmates. Everyone walked out quietly, oblivious to the noise around them. Apparently, they were still in a state of shock from the very difficult test they just took.

"That test," Danny started,

"Was," Sam stated,

"Absolutely," Tucker continued,

"Horrible!" Valerie ended the group statement.

"My brain is completely fried! Two plus two equals five, wait four, wait Abe Lincoln! I don't remember!" the tech geek cried.

"Tucker, shut up. Ugh, my head is killing me." Sam rubbed her temples, trying in vain to relieve her headache.

"Tell me about it!" Valerie groaned, trying to think straight.

"That was the hardest test I've ever taken, and I even studied for this one!" Danny complained. Soon, he realized someone was missing. "Guys, have you seen Katie?"

"Hey guys!" shouted a cheerful voice not too far away. Danny turned to see his cousin running toward them. "Sorry, Mr. Lancer needed to talk to me, so he held me back. That was a hard test, huh?" Katie said this all with a smile on her face, oblivious to the angry and confused stares from her friends aimed at her as she opened her locker and switched books. "I'm starved; let's head to lunch." Katie closed her locker door and led the way to the cafeteria, still oblivious to the stares and the fact that she's the only one talking.

Once the gang got food in their system, they snapped out of their trance and everyone began acting normal again. Unfortunately, the same could be said for everybody else in their English class, too.

"Hey babe, how's it goin'?" Dash pulled up a chair next to Katie as he started his usual lunch time routine of hitting on her. This, of course, was the cue for Katie's lunch time routine of flat out refusing him until he went away. Unfortunately, Dash happened to be very persistent.

"It would be better if you left me alone," Katie retorted in an annoyed tone. Dash may have lived for this routine, but Katie absolutely abhorred it.

"You know I was thinking that because I am the King of Casper High, and tomorrow is Valentine's Day, that I should offer to show you around town, just in case you don't remember how to get around. You know, if you go out with me none of these other losers will bother you." Dash, thinking that he had got her now, slung his arm around her and got a little closer. This move made Valerie nauseous, Tucker angry with jealously, and Danny angry with overprotective brotherly affection.

"Katie can handle herself," Sam whispered to her boyfriend as she held him back, trying to calm him down, "Just let her deal with it."

"Listen," Katie took the jock's arm off of her shoulder and pushed him away, "first of all, you've asked me out every day for the past month and a half, and everyday, including today, my answer is the same: no. Second, I don't need you to show me the way around, I remember pretty well myself, thank you. And third, Tucker's showing me around tomorrow, right Tuck?"

Tucker was caught off guard by this question. "Uh… yeah, of course I am," TIcker answered uncertainly.

"Dumped for the tech geek? Fine, but the Dash always gets his girl." Realizing today was not the day Katie would break, Dash finally left.

"He is so annoying. Why won't he take a hint and leave me alone?!" Katie banged her head on the table and groaned in frustration.

"He's a jock, and as a jock he thinks that any attractive girl that walks in is automatically his. He'll keep bothering you until something better comes along, or Paulina tears her apart, whichever comes first." Valerie, having once been part of the popular clique, knew its ins and outs and felt that she should warn Katie. "Speaking of Paulina, I'm surprised she hasn't come after you yet."

"Think it's because of second grade Sam?" Danny smiled mischievously.

"That would explain a lot. I know I'll never forget it." Sam returned Danny's smile.

"Dude, the look on Paulina's face was hilarious," Tucker said between fits of laughs to Katie, who was smiling from the memory.

"What are you guys talking about? What happened in second grade?" Valerie was feeling kind of left out. She didn't move to Amity until the summer before freshman year, so she was lost.

Katie decided to let Valerie in on it, so she started telling the story, "One day in second grade we were asked to draw pictures of our favorite animal, and Paulina was jealous because Sam's was hung in the hallway because it was so good and hers wasn't. So, to get her 'revenge' she started making fun of Sam, trying to make her cry. We all tried to stop her, but she started taunting Tucker and Danny. Then she got on my case, and made fun of the dress I was wearing."

"What happened?" Valerie asked eagerly.

"Well, at first I just told her to back off, but she just kept going. Eventually I kind of lost control and…"

"Katie started yelling at her in perfect Spanish!" Tucker interrupted, laughing in hysterically. If there was one thing everybody knew, it was that Paulina was immensely proud of her Latin heritage. To have somebody show her up in her own proud language was the ultimate insult. "After that she ran away crying. It was priceless."

"What did you say to her?" Valerie asked.

"I told her she was a selfish cow who should leave my friends alone if she knew what was good for her. She's never even attempted to start a fight with me since then."

"I'm glad someone told her." Then, something dawned on her. "Wait a minute, you can speak Spanish?" She had never heard Katie utter a word in anything but English.

"She knows Spanish and sixty-seven other languages fluently." Danny supplied, "It's kind of scary."

"Danny! You promised not to tell anybody!" Katie didn't want people to know about that particular "talent" of hers, for fear of that leading to someone figuring out quite a few secrets that she didn't want anyone to ever find out about.

Knowing that there were going to be a lot of awkward questions now, Katie quickly changed the subject, "So, Tucker, where are we going tomorrow?"

"Wait, you were serious?" Tucker asked, surprised "I thought you said that just to get Dash to go away."

"Well, I was kind of hoping your offer to show me around was still good." Katie was acting kind of shy and slightly embarrassed, which was not like her at all. It was, for lack of a better word, weird.

"Umm… sure, of course it is!" Tucker finally found his confidence, "Yeah, I'll pick you up at four, at your house."

"Great, because, truth be told, I don't remember where anything is."

* * *

Danny looked at the clock as he finished pulling on his shirt. _7:00. Great, I still have time for breakfast._ He grabbed his bag and his Valentine's gift for Sam and slowly headed downstairs. He really didn't want to go to school today, but he knew he couldn't get out of it. Unfortunately, he didn't bother to look outside his window this morning; otherwise he would have been in a much better mood. 

"Good morning!" The overly cheerful voices of his parents and sister greeted him as he walked into the kitchen.

"Morning," he grumbled back as he sat down at the table. Danny wasn't really a morning person. He put his bag down and grabbed some toast and orange juice.

He was trying to eat his breakfast in peace, but he noticed Jazz kept on staring at him. "What?" he finally snapped at her.

"Danny, did you look outside at all today?" Jazz asked cautiously.

"No. Why do you care?" Danny was getting a wee bit annoyed now.

"No reason," Jazz smiled an I-know-something-you-don't smile at her little brother, "I just thought you might want to know that we have a snow day today."

Before Danny could respond, his cousin burst through the front door.

"Danny? Great, you're up! Oh, and you've had breakfast, too! Now we can head out before the snow gets all messed up from people stepping all over it! Come on, get you're coat, I want to spend as much time I the snow as possible!" Katie was way too hyper for 7:30 in the morning.

"Katie," Jazz asked, "are you feeling okay? You're acting a bit overly enthusiastic today."

"Sorry Jazz," Katie calmed down just a little bit, "it's just that I haven't seen snow in five years, and the snowfall last night convinced me to become one with my inner child today. Danny, hurry up!"

"I'm ready, all right? Just let me…" Danny never got to finish his sentence because as soon as he said he was ready, Katie pulled him out, shouting quick goodbyes as she shut the front door. Katie was gone as quickly as she had come. Maddie, Jack, and Jazz, stared at each other, silently agreeing on one thing; that was weird.

* * *

"Danny, heads up!" 

Danny turned to locate the voice, only to be hit in the face by a snowball. He wiped the snow off of his face and found his assailant laughing at him. "You're going to pay for that Tuck!" He, Tucker, Sam, and Katie were in the middle of an all out Battle Royal, and Danny was determined to be the last one standing. He bent down to make another snowball to use to enact his revenge, but another snowball hit his back. He turned around to see Sam waving at him mockingly, a snowball in her hand. He made himself a new weapon from the ground below him and chased Sam around the clearing until they both fell into the snow bank, laughing. Danny landed right on top of Sam, in a very interesting position.

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yes, Danny?"

Danny smashed some snow onto her face. "Got you!" He laughed as Sam wiped the cold, wet snow off of her face.

"You know, we were going to offer you guys some help, but I think you've got it covered." Tucker's voice echoed through the park. Sam and Danny looked up to see Tucker and Katie standing on top of the bank, both of them holding back laughs. The two lovebirds blushed as they got up and went to go join their friends.

"You know what, I'm hungry. Danny, why don't we head back to your place for lunch?" Everyone agreed to Sam's suggestion, so they all headed to Danny's house.

* * *

"So Katie, is your inner child happy now?" Jazz, who was home finishing a project, decided to join in on the fun while the group was eating lunch. 

"Yup," Katie swallowed the last bite of her eggplant sandwich "my inner child is now very happy and promises to be quiet for the rest of the day."

"Good, because I don't think I could stand being with you all day if you were going to act like a squirrel on speed. I wanted to kill you when you woke me up this morning, and I'm a morning person!" Everybody laughed at Tucker's comment, remembering how hyper Katie was that morning. After Danny and Katie left the house, they agreed to split up and meet their friends. Danny went to go meet Sam, and as a result she missed most of Katie's hyper morning. Tucker however, had a very hyper Katie wake him up.

They all talked and laughed until about two in the afternoon, when everybody went off to go get ready for that evening's adventures.

* * *

"So remind me again, why are we waiting outside for Tucker?" Katie was beginning to feel impatient and slightly cold. 

"He called me and said to wait for him outside your house. I don't know why, I'm just the messenger," Danny answered defensively. "Besides, it's not that cold out."

Katie rolled her eyes _Of course you_ _don't think it's that cold out, you and Sam are holding each other so close it looks like you two are fused together. I wish Tucker would hurry up already!_

Katie didn't have to wait long, because Tucker came running down the block a few seconds later. "Katie, are you read to go?"

"Definitely! Let's get a move on!" Katie was happy to go, as she hoped that all the walking would warm her up. "Hey," she said, turning to her cousin and his girlfriend, "I know that you probably have something planned, but you're welcome to join us if you want." Despite what she had said, Katie was kind of hoping that her cousin had plans and couldn't come.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!" Danny was about to join them, but Sam held him back.

"But, we have plans tonight. You two have fun!" Both Katie and Tucker were visibly relieved when Sam said this. Sam held Danny back as they shared their goodbyes and separated. She then steered Danny back into his house. As soon as they walked in the door, she let go of him.

"We could have gone with them! Why did you stop me?" Danny asked, annoyed.

"Because, Captain Clueless, they wanted to be alone. Katie only asked to be polite. Plus it would have been awkward with us there."

"But why? we're just showing Katie around." Clueless Danny had, as always, completely missed the obvious, much to Sam's annoyance.

"Gee, I don't know Danny, maybe because Tucker has a crush on Katie?" Sam did not bother to hold back on the sarcasm.

"Tucker, have a crush on my cousin? You're out of you're mind," Danny nervously laughed.

"No, I'm not. Come on, even you had to notice the fact that he hasn't flirted with any girl since Katie came, and how jealous he got whenever Dash flirted with her, and …"

"Okay, okay I admit it!" Sam smiled smugly as Danny admitted defeat. "Oh man, my best friend has a crush on my favorite cousin. What am I going to do?"

* * *

Tucker and Katie walked out of the coffee shop with warm cups of hot cocoa heating their frozen fingers. They walked through the historic district happily sipping their cocoa as they talked about memories past. So far the night had been pretty cool. First they went to the Mall and surrounding shopping district. Then they came downtown to City Hall, where they went to a pretty good Italian place for dinner, and they got to eat for free because Tucker was the mayor (well, actually Tucker paid the restaurant earlier that day, but he didn't tell Katie that). After that they walked down to the Historic District, where all the museums and little small shops are. The whole night had been, for both of them, fun. 

"Brrr… It's cold out!" Katie shivered. She wasn't as used to the cold as she was when she was younger, so she freezing right now.

"Oh, here you go. I hope it helps." Tucker took off his scarf and put it on Katie.

"Thanks, it does." The two teens blushed, knowing full well what had just happened.

"Aw... you two make such a cute couple!" A bright, cheery voice said from behind them. The two teens turned around to see a girl in a red coat standing behind them she was their age with shoulder length curly blonde hair, green eyes, and a bit short on the short side. "I'm sorry, I interrupted your moment! Pooh! It's just the whole scarf thing was so cute. Okay I know you think I'm crazy now, but I'm sorry I interrupted. Goodbye! By the way, I'm Molly. Well, really Mary, but everybody calls me Molly. Maybe we'll meet again!" With that the girl skipped away happily.

"Well, that was weird," Katie said to Tucker.

"Dude, I've seen weird. That was beyond weird."

Soon they continued on their way home, both knowing that they had a very happy St. Valentine's Day.

**

* * *

Finally, I'm done! I know what you're thinking, where's all the ghosts? Well, they're showing up in the next chapter, so don't you worry. So, what did you think? Please leave a review, they make me smile. Thanks for reading and have a Happy New Year everyone!**


	6. The Fenton Coming of Age Ceremony

**Hey, I'm back! Ugh, I have midterms going on right now and it is such a pain! Oh well, at least I'm always home really early during these two weeks. Anyway, I'm taking a break from my insane studying to write this chapter, so I hope you like it! Thanks to all of you who have been reading this so far, and please review! Thanks and enjoy!**

Chapter 6: The Fenton Coming of Age Ceremony

It was finally March, and Spring had arrived in Amity Park. The birds were singing, love was in the air, and Danny, Tucker, Sam and Katie were spending this warm, lovely Saturday March 29th out in the park. They were sitting on the grass, just hanging out and talking.

"So Danny, are you excited about tomorrow?" Katie asked her cousin.

"Are you kidding? I'm psyched! I can't believe I'm finally going to be sixteen!" Danny, like all other teenagers, had been waiting for his sixteenth birthday his entire life. Now that it was almost here, he was anxious with anticipation.

"Yeah, stop bragging. You get to get your license and you don't even need it! Why does my birthday have to be all the way in July!" Tucker lamented.

"I can't believe your whole family's coming here for your birthday." Sam turned to her boyfriend and smiled as she laid her head on his chest. "That's really cool of them."

"Yeah, it's tradition. Whenever one of the Fentons turns sixteen, all my cousins come to celebrate. It's rumored that it's all because of some secret family coming of age thing, but I never believed it," Danny explained.

"Well, it also helps that most of the family never moved farther than a two hour drive away from Amity, and those that live farther usually stay with me or Danny." Katie took a final bite of the Choco-Banana Crunch Bar she had been eating and threw the wrapper and stick into the nearby garbage, getting it in without even having to get up.

"Impressive," Tucker commented to Katie.

"Why thank you, I know I am," Katie said jokingly, with a small flirtatious smile.

Tucker chuckled at her comment. "By the way, you have a bit of ice cream on your chin."

"Where? I don't feel it," Katie lied. She could feel the creamy drop falling down her chin, but she didn't want to mention it.

"Right there," Tucker went to go wipe the confection off, but he was interrupted by another hand slapping a paper napkin on Katie's chin.

"There you go!" Danny said with over enthusiasm. Apparently, he was trying to be "helpful" by showing her where the ice cream was himself.

"Thanks," Tucker and Katie said through gritted teeth. They were both slightly annoyed by this intrusion. Ever since their non-date date on Valentine's Day (Katie and Tucker refused to call it a date but Danny and Sam knew it really had been, even if the two parties involved didn't know it) Danny had seemed to be much more protective of his cousin. Whenever Katie and Tucker even looked like they might possibly in the smallest way be attempting to flirt, he would do something to make the situation a bit more awkward. He never let the two of them be alone for any more than a millisecond at a time, and if they ever were alone he would somehow find them a second later. Sam just rolled her eyes whenever this happened. She understood that he was just trying to protect his cousin, but she had to admit that it was starting to get annoying. She had tried talking to him about it, but every time she did he just pretended not to know what she was talking about. She figured that he'll ease up eventually.

Suddenly, the group heard terrified screams echoing throughout the park. Before they knew what was happening, Danny's ghost sense went off and he had transformed, and not a moment too soon either. As soon as the two rings of light circling his body disappeared, a raspy male voice was heard above the crowd.

"I am Technus, master of all things technological! I am here to…" but he never finished his statement, as one of Danny's ectoblasts had hit him.

"For once, can you not make a long-winded introduction? I mean seriously, we all know who you are by now." Danny really wasn't in the mood to deal with the "Master of Long-Winded Introductions" right now. Or any ghosts for that matter. Seriously, ever since the whole asteroid thing the ghost attacks have been at a minimum, and he was really enjoying it. He took out the thermos to suck Technus in, but the ghost blasted it out of Danny's hands. Thus the two started really fighting. Ectoblasts were everywhere.

Meanwhile, back on the ground Sam was trying to reach the fallen thermos. Finally she got it. "Danny!" she called as she threw the thermos to him. Danny caught the thermos and turned to suck Technus into it, but stopped as soon as he saw his foe, holding his cousin, fifty feet in the air.

Danny didn't know what to do. If he sucked Technus into the thermos, Katie would fall. If he shot at them, Katie would get hurt. He was desperately trying to figure out what to do, when a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Technus, put me down!" Katie's voice was deliberate and commanding, not in the least bit frightened. If anything, it was intimidating. Danny looked up at his cousin and saw her staring at Technus, and what he could have sworn were steel gray eyes daring the ghost to disobey her. Apparently, Technus noticed this too, and for a second he looked frightened. However, he overcame this very quickly and with a smug smile he said "You want me to put you down? Okay, here you go!" and with that he just dropped her.

Danny swiftly flew toward his falling cousin, and caught her before she had a chance to react. He gently put her on the ground next to his two best friends. He then turned around and immediately sucked the fleeing Technus into the thermos. He turned back to human and went to his cousin.

"Katie, are you alright?" Danny inquired nervously.

"Yeah, I'm fine, a little shaken up, but fine." Katie looked up at her cousin and smiled, her comforting ice blue eyes confirming that she was okay. Once Katie has assured everyone of this, they headed over to the Nasty Burger, deciding that they have had enough of the park for one day.

Still, there was one thing that was bothering Danny. He could have sworn that Katie's eyes had been the color of steel when she was with Technus. He just couldn't explain it; there was no way that was possible. Finally, he just wrote it off as just a trick of light and decided not to dwell on it. He also made a steady resolution to try to get more sleep from now on.

* * *

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Everyone screamed as Danny blew out the sixteen candles on his birthday cake. He looked up at his family and friends, laughing and celebrating around him. It was the best birthday he could ask for. _Well, maybe not the best,_ Danny thought as he watched his two numbskull cousins Bill and Ted argue about who had the best biceps, _but it's definitely in my top three._

"Hey," a voice behind him said, "happy birthday, Danny." Danny turned around to see Sam, who leaned in and kissed him. Unfortunately, a group of his older cousins saw this.

"Hey Sam," his eighteen year old cousin Jonathan, Jon for short, called, "can you be my best friend, too?" He and his two brothers laughed.

"Man Danny, if I wish I had friends who were that close with me who were girls!" Danny's cousin Mike laughed.

"I'm sure you do Mike," Katie taunted as she walked by. With a mischievous she added "Especially since she's his girlfriend now."

"No way! He actually did it?" Jon asked in disbelief.

"Yup, about four and half months ago, didn't you know?" Katie's smug grin widened with every passing second.

"Oh my God, everybody! Yo, I said everybody!" Finally, everybody turned to Jon. "Danny did it, I repeat, he actually did it. You know what that means…"

"Yup," Katie said, "everybody pay up!" Katie took her sister's hat and went around the room collecting bets. Katie collected bets from all the cousins, which was to be expected, but Danny looked on with disbelief as she continued on to his aunts and uncles, his grandparents, even his parents and, most surprisingly, Jazz.

"But, how could all of you bet on it? Most of you have only met Sam once, at Jazz's party two years ago," Danny asked incredulously.

"Danny," Grandma Fenton started, "we only needed to spend two minutes with the two of you to figure it out."

"Seriously," his fourteen year old cousin Tori started, "it couldn't have been more obvious if there was a blazing neon sign above the two of you."

"Oh shit! It's ten! It's time!" As soon as Jon said this, he grabbed Danny and blindfolded him. "Okay everybody, let's go! Lisa, Katie's coming with us; she's close enough in age."

"Okay, girls in my car, guys in Jon's. Let's get a move on! We'll be back in a couple of hours everybody!" Danny's nineteen year old cousin Lisa shouted. At this signal every cousin over sixteen years in age went out the door, ready to start the "Fenton Coming of Age Ceremony".

* * *

The boys carried Danny out of the car. Danny had no idea where he was, but he knew they couldn't have gone too far because they had only been driving for fifteen minutes. He really wished they would remove the blindfold though, because he really wanted to know what was going on. 

Finally, Danny's blindfold was taken off. He was in the local limestone quarry, just outside Amity Park. His cousins surrounded him in one big circle. Jon stepped forward, and in a loud deep voice he said "Welcome, to the Fenton Coming of Age Ceremony! This most noble and ancient tradition of the Fenton family is celebrated when one of our males turns sixteen. Tonight we honor Daniel, son of Jack. Before I begin to explain the ceremony to our most honored guest, I ask that his partner for the evening please step into the center." Katie walked out of the circle and stood next to Danny. Jon continued, "Katherine will be turning sixteen in one month and nine days time, well within the limits for our ceremony. Therefore, tonight we also honor Katherine, daughter of Christopher, as the initiate's guide and partner. Katherine has been told of tonight's mission, and has accepted the responsibility. She will guide Daniel truthfully and make sure he completes the task in full and truly. Now, Katherine, I hand to you the initiation stick, use it wisely." Jon handed her one of those giant foam q-tips. "Now Daniel, your mission is to climb up to the cliff above and from there dive into watery depths below. You may take off your clothes and begin!"

The crowd cheered wildly as Danny took off everything but his boxers and began to hike up the small cliff, Katie right behind him. He envied her, all warm in her tee-shirt and jeans (she had left her jacket in the car) while he was standing there in his underwear. Even with his powers he was freezing.

"This is so stupid!" Danny complained as they got to the top.

"I know, but what are we supposed to do? It's part of being a Fenton." Katie was very sympathetic to Danny. However, she still really wished Lisa hadn't made her leave her camera in the car; this stuff was gold! "Well, it's time to jump in. And remember, no cheating, that means no ghost powers."

"Yeah. I know," Danny replied bitterly, "but do I have to?"

"Yes. Oh, and there's something I'm supposed to tell you."

"What?"

"You're not really going dive in, you're going to fall."

"What is that supposed mean?" Danny asked, very confused.

"This. Sorry!" Katie said as she used the giant foam q-tip to push Danny off the ledge and into the water below. She heard a distant splash, followed by Danny screaming "Katie, I'm going to kill you!"

Katie was holding back laughter from the look on her cousin's face, until she saw that Danny's eyes were a bright, almost yellow green. "Danny! Don't you dare!" she shouted at him, but to no avail. He shot an ectoblast at her which, although it missed, still caused her to lose her balance and fall into the water below.

"Danny I'm going to get you back for that!" Katie started swimming toward her cousin and, before he had time to get away she splashed him. He splashed her back and soon the two were in an all out splash war until the cold started getting to them and they had to return to shore. Towels, hot cocoa, and warm clothes met both of them there (apparently, since Fentons happened to pretty clumsy, many girls ended up falling into the quarry, so they always made sure to have back up clothes just in case this happened), much to their delight. Finally, Jon ended the ceremony with a few closing words, and they all drove back home.

Once they got back, the entire group was sworn to secrecy right outside the front door. They were not to discuss any of this with somebody who had not received the ceremony.

Overall, Danny had to say that this was on of the best birthdays he had ever had.

* * *

**Wow, I actually finished this chapter in one night. Cool! Alright, well that's chapter six for you, please review. By the way, if anyone can guess what Danny's birthday means to me, I'll give you a prize! Thanks for reading!**


	7. A Complicated Day

**Hi, I'm back! The plot really starts to move now, so it should be a little more interesting. I'm sorry I've kept the plot stagnant for so long, I kind of got distracted (although the fight scene in the last chapter was really important plot wise). Anyway, here's chapter 7. Please read and review, thanks! Enjoy!**

Chapter 7: A Complicated Day

Sam leaned next Danny's locker, waiting for him and Katie to show up. She stared sown the long hallway, wondering where the two of them were. Tucker was trying to explain the features on his new PDA, but she wasn't listening, mainly because this was the fifth time he's told her about since he got it last night. Finally Sam spotted Danny and Katie walking down the hall. Well, Katie was walking, but Danny was kind of shuffling along.

"Good morning!" Katie said cheerfully to her friends.

"Happy birthday!" Tucker exclaimed as he bear hugged Katie. He hugged her so tightly that soon her face turned blue from lack of oxygen.

"Can't breathe!" Katie choked out. Finally, Tucker let her go.

"Happy birthday Katie." Sam leaned over to her boyfriend and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good morning Danny."

"Good Morning," Danny said through a yawn. The poor boy looked like he was about to fall asleep on his feet.

"Danny, are you alright? You seem really tired." Sam was concerned because Danny hadn't been this tired in months.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Sam," Danny said, stifling yet another yawn, "It's just that last night my ghost sense went off right at midnight and I was up most of the night trying to figure out what caused it."

"Oh yeah, I remember. Did you ever find whoever it was?" Katie asked worriedly.

"No, whatever it was seemed to disappear after you left." Katie had been helping Danny with a report late last night and left when his ghost sense went off.

"Wow, that's weird," Katie said a bit nervously as she opened her locker and began to grab her books.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find whoever it was eventually. Hey, Katie how does it feel to finally be sixteen?" Tucker asked excitedly.

"It feels pretty good." Katie said from behind him. She walked over to her locker and closed the door

"Happy birthday, Katie!" Valerie had just joined them. Katie thanked her when she noticed the necklace Katie was wearing "Hey, cool necklace! Where'd you get it?" The necklace in question was a round, black onyx stone hanging on a medium length thick silver chain that hung delicately on Katie's neck.

"Oh, this? It's a birthday gift… from my parents." Katie closed her locker. _This is going to be a long day,_ she thought as the group headed to their first class.

* * *

It was now lunch, and so far the day had been pretty uneventful. The key phrase here is "had been," because something weird happened at lunch. The gang was finishing off chocolate birthday cake Tucker had bought for Katie this morning (he had really custom ordered it three days ago and had it delivered to school right before lunch so that it would be a complete surprise, but nobody knew that) when two girls stepped up to their table. 

"Katie, I'm sorry, but we need to talk to you, now. It's about the thing we talked about this morning," the shorter girl said hesitantly. She seemed familiar to Tucker, with her curly blonde hair and…

"Hey, I know you! You were that girl from Valentine's Day!" he exclaimed.

"Valentine's Day?" she questioned, having really no idea what he was referring to. Finally, a realization dawned on her. "Oh no, did I interrupt you in the middle of a date by saying something really weird and then skipping away?" Molly asked a bit worriedly. Unfortunately, she did that a lot that day, and she was really hoping this wasn't another case of it. Normally she's not that, well, crazy. She has always been perky, hence why she is cheerleader, but never like she was this past Valentine's Day.

"Yeah, you did. Did I forget to mention that?" Katie answered, slightly embarrassed that she forgot to warn Molly about that.

"Sorry, you'll have to excuse my friend here. She gets a bit crazy on Valentine's Day. By the way, I'm Jessica; it's nice to meet you guys. I'm sorry to cut this short but, Katie, we really need to speak to you about the thing." Jessica said this as politely as she could. She was about average height, with deep brown eyes and long brunette hair. She knew she sounded a little curt, but it was urgent that she spoke to Katie.

Katie apologized to her friends as she left to go join Molly and Jessica, and promised to meet up with them at their class. Neither of the boys questioned this, and let her go, but Sam knew something was up. First of all, Katie had been with her all morning, and she hadn't seen these two girls even look at Katie, let alone talk to her. Second, both Molly and Jessica had the same necklace Katie did, except that stones of ruby and sapphire, respectively, replaced the onyx one on Katie's. This seemed like more than just pure coincidence. Third, Sam recognized Molly as being one of the quieter, more passive (and nicer) members of Paulina's clique, and Jessica as being part of the astronomy club; why on Earth would these two need to talk to Katie so urgently, _together_? Sam didn't know what was going on, but she was going to find out.

* * *

Finally the day was over, and the teenagers of Amity Park ran out of the doors of Casper High, ready to embrace the weekend. Danny, Tucker, Sam and Katie walked out with their fellow students to enjoy whatever the wonderful spring afternoon brought them. 

"So Katie, want to go to the Nasty Burger, my treat?" Tucker asked Katie.

"Sure," she answered happily, "I would lo… hold one second." Katie's phone had started ringing, the ringtone making the call sound urgent. "Dead!" by My Chemical Romance played on as Katie searched for her phone. Finally she found it, ending the morbidly upbeat song. "Hello. Mom? What do you mean I have to go straight home! But… fine. I'll see you in a few minutes. Love you, too." She hung up the phone, obviously annoyed. "Guys, I'm sorry but we have to go back to my house now. Mom says she wants to start the party early so that Jake and Alex don't try to eat the whole cake by themselves again. Can I take a raincheck Tuck?" Katie felt really bad because she thought she was ruining any plans they had. Little did she know, they were in on the surprise her parents had planned for her. They started heading towards Katie's house, laughing and joking the whole way.

Katie walked in her front door and called for her parents and siblings to let them know she was home, but she got no response. "Well, I guess nobody is home," she thought out loud.

"Hear that Lex? We're nobody. Four and half months and she's already forgotten all about us," a boy with a heavy British accent said from the living room doorway. Katie turned to the source of the voice to see two teenagers standing there. One was a tall boy with blonde hair and green eyes. He was wearing an untucked navy blue button down shirt with plain jeans. If he had gone to Casper High, Paulina would be drooling all over him. The other was a girl of medium height, with fiery red hair and bright hazel eyes that made her seem very pretty. She had on a red cap sleeve shirt with light tan colored Capri pants.

"Tom? Lex? Is that really you?" Katie asked in disbelief.

"No Kat, it's the Tooth Fairy. Of course it's us! You're parents decided to get us down here for your sixteenth birthday because you didn't want a big party. Now get over here!" The girl said with a slight Texas twang to her voice.

Katie ran up to them and joined them in a group hug. She looked absolutely elated to see them. "Oh my God, I missed you guys so much! Danny, Sam, Tuck, these are my two best friends from school, Alexis Torres and Thomas Tweed. Lex, Tom, I believe you know that this is my cousin Danny, his girlfriend, and one of my best friends since I was five, Sam Manson, and another one of my best friends Tucker Foley." The group exchanged their hellos and nice-to-meet-yous and then got to talking. Soon the whole family had made it over (meaning Danny's parents and Jazz, too) and the party really got started. There was good food (mainly vegetarian dishes for Katie's sake) and soda and cake galore.

Soon the group of teens was talking again, the subject being anything and everything. Katie found out about all her old friends back in Cairo while they all reminisced about some of their favorite memories. One thing that came up was the Disasteroid incident just five months ago. "So he's really your cousin?" Alexis asked, still slightly surprised, "Wow, this is so weird. Now I know why you were in shock."

"Yeah," Tom went on, "I remember your reaction precisely. You were fine up until your cousin revealed himself. Then you shouted 'Holy shit! Danny?!' Oh, and the face you had on was just priceless; I wish I had a camera with me! Then there was Mrs. Maladuke, who heard you and went to punish you, but freaked out after she found out he was your cousin. That was hilarious! I remember how she couldn't even look at you until the day you left!"

"Uh… yeah, right. What's that Mom? You need me? Sorry guys, I have to go help my mom." Katie practically ran away from the group. Her mom hadn't really called her, she just needed an excuse to get away from the conversation. She really didn't need a reminder of _that_ revelation, not with the day she's been having. But, nobody really noticed that Katie had sped off, and went back to the conversation at hand. Danny was just about to change the subject when Alexis said something very peculiar.

"Remember how strange Kat acted during those weeks, though? She was jumpy and nervous all the time, and her mind seemed kind of scattered. Then when she found out about Danny, it seemed like the tip of the iceberg. She calmed down a little bit, but she became much more secretive, and acted a bit more paranoid. She seemed almost relieved to move back here. I'm glad to see she's back to normal now, though. I guess it was just the shock of finding out. Anyway, since Kat's not here, what embarrassing childhood stories do you guys have for us?" Thus, Alexis changed the subject, and Tucker went into a long recounting of Katie's tomboy years. But Danny wasn't listening. Instead, he was trying to figure out why Katie acted like that. Katie always stayed calm in a bad situation, and he had never seen her act very jumpy. Did his revelation affect her that badly? But she seemed fine with it all this time. Even in her email, she seemed excited, in a good way, more than anything. Oh well, he figured he'd just ask Jazz about it later.

Soon Katie had joined the conversation again. They were comparing the suckiness of their schools when Katie's necklace was once again noticed. "So Katie, awesome necklace, where did you get it?" Alexis asked, hoping to get one for herself.

"Oh, this? I…uh… got it at a pawn store near here. It was the only one they had." Katie answered hesitantly. Alexis looked disappointed, but she understood.

The night finished with the opening of presents. Katie received a lot of gifts from her family and friends, including the new laptop she so desperately needed from her parents (her old one kept on turning off at random times). After Katie said "thank you" for what felt like hours, all the guests finally left at about eleven, except for Alexis and Tom, who were staying over for the weekend.

Katie went to bed that night absolutely exhausted, not just from the party, but from all that transpired today. If she learned anything from today, it was that things just got more complicated. Finally Katie went to sleep, the polished onyx stone from her necklace gleaming in the moonlight.

* * *

**What happened to the ghost that kept Danny up? Who are Molly and Jessica really, and why are they so interested in Katie? What is with the mysterious necklace? Why was Katie acting so strange? Why am I asking you all of this? I already know the answers! Oh, and the "**_**that**_**" Katie refers to is not what you think it is.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! So, what do you guys think? Please leave me a review, they make me a very happy girl and help me to improve! Thanks a million for reading!**


	8. A Secret Revealed

**Finally, a chapter where I'm going to answer questions! Yay! Thank you for all the reviews so far, I really appreciate them so please take the time out after reading this to tell me what you think, thank you! Enjoy chapter 8!**

Chapter 8: A Secret Revealed

Today was a good day. The weather was warm, the water park was packed, and the schools were closed. This could only mean one thing: summer vacation was finally here. Because it was so nice out, our favorite Amity Park residents decided to hang out in the park. Sam was sitting on the grass watching Danny and Katie throw around an old baseball. Tucker was next to her, playing Doomed on his PDA.

"Hey Tuck," Katie asked, throwing the ball to Danny, "if you're the mayor, then how are you able to spend so much time with us? I mean, you only go in about two or three times a week; don't you have mayoral stuff to do?" Katie apologetically added, "Sorry, just curious."

"Well, Amity's so small that there's really not much to do. Plus, Vlad actually had a pretty good system going. He may have been an ass, but he did know his politics," Tucker said matter-of-factly.

"That's no sur–…" Danny was interrupted by a familiar cold sensation. "Shit. I really don't want to deal with this right now." Two familiar rings of light surrounded him as he started to fly to the sky, looking for the ghost. Tucker and Sam didn't need a warning, for they already had their weapons and a thermos ready to go.

Danny didn't have to wait long to see where the ghost was. As soon as he shot into the air, it flew right up to him.

"So, you're the infamous Danny Phantom," the male ghost said, slightly surprised, "Why, you're just a child, and a puny one at that. Why is everyone so afraid of you? One should never underestimate his opponent, however. Come on, half-breed, give me your best shot." His voice was confident and condescending. This ghost was new to Danny. He was muscular, had short flaming green hair, and a greenish skin tone. If one thing was for sure this guy was here for one reason alone: to fight Danny and win.

Danny, however, was determined to prove that he wasn't to be taken lightly. He threw a punch so forceful that it made that cocky ghost fly back thirty feet. The ghost, however, recovered pretty quickly. "Is that all you got?" he taunted. Thus the fight began.

Meanwhile, back on the ground Tucker and Sam were standing by, waiting for any sign that Danny might need help, while Katie did crowd control. Katie refused to touch any of the weapons, claiming that her aim was so bad she could miss a six foot target two feet in front of her. Instead, she tried to make Danny's life easier by trying to keep civilians out of harm's way, and she was pretty good at it.

A crowd had gathered to watch the fight, but most people were smart enough by now to know to stay out of the way, so Katie was ably to quickly herd the crowd a safe distance away from the fight. Her job done, Katie went to join Sam and Tucker, ready to support her cousin in any way possible. But when she looked up to watch the fight, she did not like what she saw. Nobody realized it, but Danny and this ghost were so closely matched in power that Danny was getting tired and beginning to fall. Katie was getting increasingly worried as the fight continued. _Danny's using up way too much energy! At this rate he's going to kill himself!_

"I can't watch this, excuse me," Katie said to Sam and Tucker as she ran away into the nearest alley.

"Katie, wait!" Tucker ran after her, but Katie had already disappeared to God knows where.

Back in the air, Danny was huffing and puffing as he fought Comisvir (he had found out that this was the ghost's name). He was winning by a small margin, but he knew he couldn't take much longer. "It's time to finish this!" Danny shouted. In one fluid motion he took out the thermos and uncapped it, aiming it at the ghost.

"You win! You truly are a worthy opponent, but not by much!" Comisvir shouted as he disappeared into the thermos, but not before shooting one last blast at Danny that almost knocked the wind out of him.

Danny smiled weakly as capped the thermos. He had won. The crowd below was cheering mightily. Then everything went black.

* * *

Danny slowly began to open his eyes. _Where am I?_ He took in his surroundings as he began to regain consciousness. They seemed familiar to him. _Wait… I'm in my room? How did I get back here?_ He groaned as he painfully tried to sit up in what he assumed was his bed.

"Oh, you're up! Thank God!"

Danny turned to see a ghost standing in front of him. He didn't notice her there. The ghost had long white hair that curled at the ends and shining steel grey eyes that with her pale complexion, almost like Danny's in his ghost form, made her seem eerily beautiful. She was dressed in a simple floor length black dress with long sleeves. She was pretty tall, almost a few inches short of six feet.

"Danny, lie down. You're already in enough pain thanks to that overconfident idiot. Now, stay still so that I can finish. I can't believe Comisvir was stupid enough to come after you himself! I'm going to get him for this!" The ghost said as she continued to heal him using some light from her hands. Her voice was kind, and seemed very familiar to Danny, like he's heard it a million times before. "How are you feeling?" she asked when she was done. "I know, stupid question, but I'm sort of required to ask it." She shot him a warm, friendly smile. For some reason, Danny trusted her; something in her voice told him he was safe.

"Yeah I'm fine. I know this is going to sound weird, but you remind me a lot of my cousin," Danny said smiling. He was feeling a lot better now, and even managed to sit himself up.

"What a surprise," the ghost muttered sarcastically.

"What did you say?"

"I said I'm glad to hear that. Well, your friends are probably going to be here any minute, so I'm going to go." She got up and went to go leave. "See you later Dan-Dan." The ghost girl made her way toward the door, but was startled when Danny threw a small ectoblast at her.

"Who are you?!" He demanded angrily.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" the girl asked curtly, obviously taken aback by such a sudden surge of rage. "I save your life and now you're treating me like an enemy? That's rich!"

"Only my cousin Katie ever calls me 'Dan-Dan', and no one else. Now I think I have a right to know, who the hell are you? And answer honestly."

The ghost girl looked up at him with sad eyes, trying to figure out what to say. Finally she resigned to his wishes. "Fine. But you have to promise not to freak out, okay?" Danny nodded curtly. The girl hesitated for a minute. She took a deep breath. Two black rings enveloped the girl and traveled up and down her body, revealing a raven haired teenager with bright blue eyes. "I am Katie."

This, however, wasn't enough. "Prove it," Danny demanded, slightly shocked.

"Okay, your first kiss was with Sam in the summer right before Freshman year. You, Sam, Tuck and I were playing truth or dare at your house and Tuck dared you and Sam to kiss. Later that night you told me that you actually liked it."

Danny just stared dumbfounded. _Only Katie knows about that_. "Katie? You're half ghost?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that, but technically yes, I am half ghost."

The door flew open and Sam and Tucker stood in the doorway in shock. "Katie's a what?!" they exclaimed in unison.

"All right, everybody sit down and I'll explain everything," Katie started pacing as the trio sat down on Danny's bed. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out what to say. Finally she began to speak, "Before you ask, no I did not become a half ghost through some freak accident, it just sort of happened."

"What do you mean 'it just sort of happened'?" Sam asked curiously, "It's not like this happens naturally."

"I can't explain it. I woke up on my twelfth birthday and fell through my bed. Later, I was told what I was and I started training with Clockwork. That's it." Katie was nervous, and rightly so. She knew that her claim was incredible, but what could she do.

"You were trained? By Clockwork?" Danny asked, surprised, "Why?" He looked up at Katie with curiosity, truly wondering why she had received this privilege. Although he wouldn't admit it, there was certainly a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"I was one of the first true hybrids in centuries Danny, I needed the help. I didn't have the same support you did from your friends. Plus, my powers were more dangerous than yours at the time because they were part of my body's natural chemistry, and they had been bottled up for twelve years. Also, because my powers were naturally acquired, ghosts knew what I was before I did, so I had to learn how to fight and defend myself." Katie chose her words carefully, knowing the trouble a slip of the tongue would cause.

"Wait, you can fight?!" Danny asked, now feeling slightly hurt, "Then why didn't you help me?"

"I wanted to, but I couldn't. I have a neutrality contract with the ghosts in the Ghost Zone. The deal was that I can't hurt them unless they hurt or provoke me. This ensured that I could enter the ghost zone without any hassle." Katie was now on the verge of tears. This was obviously taking a huge emotional toll on her. "Now please, that's really all I can tell you."

"Okay, just one more question." This time it was Sam that spoke. "How come Danny couldn't detect you?"

"Because of this." Katie lifted her necklace to show them what she was talking about. "It prevents anything from detecting me, whether I am in human or ghost form, starting from the age of sixteen. Before that some sort of spell protected me or something, I'm not really sure." Suddenly, Katie started to look around, as if searching for something. A split second later her expression changed from confusion to a strange mixture of annoyance and anxiety. She sighed and quickly told her friends she had to go before running out of the room.

The trio stared at each other, each knowing that they were all thinking the exact same thing. They came upon the silent agreement that they'll let Katie off the hook this time. They will eventually, however, question her more. But as for now, they figured Katie had gone through enough.

* * *

Katie hadn't been seen for a couple of hours after she revealed everything, and when she did come back she was much quieter than usual. Danny had tried to talk to her after dinner, but she didn't say much. Danny didn't take offense at it though because he knew that she just needed time to adjust to what had just happened. She told him that she had never told anybody before, not even her parents.

Danny looked out his window. It was a clear night, and the stars were shining brightly in the sky. Deciding that he wanted to look at the stars, Danny flew to the park, where there was less light pollution. Plus, he would be better able to think about what to do next. He always thought more clearly in the park, under the night sky.

Danny landed in his favorite spot in the park. He closed his eyes and breathed in the fresh air. He was about to lie down when he noticed Katie about ten feet away. She was looking up at the stars, lost deep in thought.

"Hey," Danny said quietly as he walked over to her.

Katie sat up and turned to her cousin. "Hey," she responded, a small smile on her lips. Danny took this as an invitation to sit down, so he did. Together they sat in comfortable silence, staring in wonder at the bright orbs shining above them. They sat like this for half an hour, until finally Danny broke the silence.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Danny asked.

"I didn't know how. I wanted to, I really did, but the timing never seemed right." There was sincerity in her voice and love in her eyes that was the result of sixteen years of being both friends and family.

Danny looked at Katie and smiled. Silently he was saying _I understand_.

Katie smiled back. _Thank you_, it said. They went back to observing the stars, happy now that everything was explained. Two hours went by in tranquil silence, until Danny started to yawn every two seconds. He decided that maybe it was time they started heading back home.

"Katie, are you ready to go?" Danny received no response. "Katie?" he asked again, but it was in vain. Danny turned to see that his cousin had already fallen asleep. He smiled and turned into Danny Phantom. He cautiously picked up his cousin, careful not to wake her.

Danny was about to take off for home when he noticed something. In the moonlight, words were clearly visible on Katie's necklace. _Why hadn't I noticed this before?_ It seemed to be some sort of poem. Danny couldn't understand it, as it was all in Latin, but this is what he read:

_Omni venindus fini_

_Bonus aut malus, laetus aut tristis, finio ea._

_Sumus formidatissima Parcarum ignaris_

_Sed fauta sapientiis, quis sciunt veram naturam meam._

_En lucis lunae potestis videre secretos meos_

_Morti est pulchrissimi fini dei longissimi._

Danny looked at the poem curiously. _I wonder want this means. Oh well, I guess I'll just ask Katie in the morning._

Danny flew home and, after depositing Katie in her bed, went to his own. He fell asleep instantly. Danny woke up the next morning feeling very refreshed, and the poem was completely forgotten.

* * *

**It's finished! So, what did you think? I was so happy to finally put that poem in! I have been waiting a month to post it! Okay, so tell me what you guys think, please. I worked really hard to try to answer some of my hanging questions (sorry again!). Anyway, thank you so much for reading and please leave a review. Thank you!**


	9. The Fruit Loop Returns

**I'm back! Sorry about the long wait, but a lot has been going on recently. I took my SAT and started Driver's Ed, plus I had play rehearsals, school work, the Mock Trial competition, more school work, and I had massive writer's block trying to figure out how to start this chapter. But enough about me, let's continue the story. Before I begin, I just want to give a huge shout out to those who reviewed for the last chapter. Thank you so much! Now some of you have been paying attention to the clues I have been leaving in the chapters and have come to some scarily accurate conclusions. Therefore, I am letting you guys know that there is now a ****Fated**** forum to discuss theories (because I really do love reading them). Wow, this is the longest author's note so far, not including the first chapter. Okay, now I am seriously going to start now. Please read and review, thank you! Enjoy chapter 9!**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Danny Phantom. Just thought I should remind you guys. Nor do I own Epic Movie. I do, however, own Katie and the story line. I also own a bar of chocolate. Mmm, chocolate.**

Chapter 9: The Fruit Loop Returns

Katie sat by the front window of her cousin's house, watching the rain fall in heavy drops. Thunder roared in the distance and lightening soon followed. Katie had always enjoyed watching the rain because it tended to have a calming effect on her, whether it was a light drizzle or the heaviest of downpours. Today was no exception. She gazed outside longingly, her breath fogging the window as the cold, heavy rain rapped against it.

"So it's just you and me," Danny asked, "what should we do?"

Katie reluctantly pulled away from the sight of the pouring rain and answered her cousin. "I don't know. Rainy days were so much easier to deal with when we were little!"

"Yeah," Danny agreed. "Come on, there's got to be something to do!" he shouted to the sky.

Then, as if on cue, the ghost alarm in the basement went off.

"Well, that sure was convenient," Katie commented as they ran downstairs. They finally reached the bottom step, ready to deal with whatever had come through the portal. That is, until they saw who it was. "Then again, maybe not," Katie said as she looked in shock at the man standing in front of the newly rebuilt Ghost Portal.

"Vlad," Danny said with pure hatred in his voice, "what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be roaming the universe or something?" There was no lost love between Danny and his arch rival, that was sure. If anything, Danny's hatred for the man had only increased in the past few months without his presence.

"Trust me boy, I am not here by choice. My oxygen ran out," Vlad pointed to the oxygen gauge on the helmet he was holding, which was currently flashing red. "If it was up to me, I would have stayed up there. I know that society is going to reject me now that I am back, so just make your jabs and leave me alone."

Danny just glared at him. "And what," he said icily, "would make you think I would just let you leave like that?" Danny said, green eyes shining menacingly. "After all the shit you put me through, you expect me to just let you go!" Danny had just turned ghost, his temper steadily rising. "I don't think so," he said in a low, terrifying voice. He shot a very strong ectoblast at Vlad, just missing him.

"Danny stop!" Katie yelled, running out from the shadow of the stairway, where she had been hiding the whole time. She grabbed her cousin's arm, her eyes silently pleaded him to calm down.

"Ah, Katherine, I see your parents decided to return to your hometown. How is your family?" Vlad asked, surprisingly calm for someone who had just been nearly killed two seconds earlier.

"Fine," Katie answered through gritted teeth. "Now does someone want to tell me what is going on between you two?" Katie had known Danny her entire life, and she had never seen him act so unforgiving toward anyone. Seeing him feel such a pure hatred toward anyone surprised her, to say the least.

"Daniel and I have had our disagreements in the past. Apparently, he still has some issues to work out," Vlad answered smoothly.

"Gee, I'm sorry, but it's a bit difficult for me to get over the fact that you tried to kill my dad to marry my mom and have me as a son," Danny spat out.

Katie gasped. To say she was surprised to hear this would be a gross understatement.

"Is this true?" Katie asked Vlad in a whisper, her eyes wide with shock. The silence that followed was all the answer she needed. Katie looked back at her cousin, and then at his arch enemy, unsure of what to do. It seemed as if her whole world was crashing down in front of her. She had trusted him, respected him, only to now find out that it was all a lie.

"Vlad, tell me why you're here, or I'll make you tell me!" Danny shouted angrily.

"Put a lid on it Daniel. I didn't come here for anything. In fact I am leaving. You might want to keep your temper under control, however," Vlad said coolly. "Have a good day, Katherine," Vlad said in a happier tone to Katie, "and give my love to your family." And with that, he flew away.

Danny got up to go after him, but Katie stopped him.

"Let him go," Katie said quietly, "He's going to experience more trouble out there than anything you can do to him. He has to deal with the backlash from what he's done."

Danny was about to protest, but when he looked back at his cousin, he realized she was right. He also noticed that there was an emotional battle going on through her. Her eyes were downcast, her face solemn. She wasn't sure whether to be angry, hurt, sad, or some other depressing emotion. Danny has always been called clueless, but he isn't as oblivious as everyone thinks. He knew his cousin well enough at least to know that she was in shock. Unfortunately, he didn't know why. Still, he realized she needed help.

"Katie, do you want to tell me what's up?"

* * *

"I can't believe you never told me about him!" Katie exclaimed to her cousin.

"Katie, judging by what you just told us, would you really believe me?" Danny responded.

"No, I wouldn't have, you're right."

It was a couple of hours after the whole Vlad incident, and Katie and Danny were trying to explain to each other their relationship with the man. Tucker and Sam were with them, for emotional support. As soon as Danny and Katie had come back upstairs, Danny called their two best friends for back up while Katie tried to get over her shock. Tucker had been in the middle of a meeting with the city council, and Sam was at a function with her parents, but when they heard what had happened, both friends dropped everything and ran over.

"Wow, I'm sorry you had to find out like this, Katie. It must be hard for you." Sam was sympathetic to Katie's plight. At first, none of them understood why Katie took Vlad's actions so personally. As far as they knew, he was only a benefactor for her parents and her schooling. They would have never guessed that Katie had admired the man, let alone the fact that he was to be her mentor until recently. Katie had known him personally, had trusted him, and finding out that he was so cruel was definitely a punch to the gut.

"It's not that bad, I even think I'm starting to get over the shock." Katie was lying through her teeth. After her argument with Danny back in January, she had a feeling that he and Vlad were rivals of some sort, but she knew the fact of how much Vlad used her cousins and others as pawns in his little game was always going to eat at her. On the outside she was calm and seemed to be getting over it, but on the inside she was scared and worried. She knew that as soon as she was alone she was going to unwillingly scrutinize her relationship with the man, to see if he ever used her, and she was afraid of what she would find out.

"Hey, Katie, you've had a trying day. How about we go to the movies, just you and me, my treat?" Tucker asked boldly.

Katie laughed light-heartedly "I would love to, only I get to pick the movie. I am not sitting through another 'Epic Movie'."

"Cool, let's go!" Katie's mood lightened as the two friends left the house, arguing about what movie they were going to watch. Danny and Sam chuckled lightly as they watched them leave. But as soon as the front door closed Danny's face darkened.

"Sam," Danny said seriously, "I'm worried about Vlad being back. You heard what Katie said, he's better at acting like the innocent victim than I thought. I'm afraid that he might know about Katie. And what if…" _what if he goes after you._ Danny couldn't bring himself to finish that last thought out loud. Sam meant everything to him, and he couldn't bear it if anything happened to her.

"Danny, Katie can take care of herself," Sam said, "and so can I," she added defiantly. "Danny, I know you're worried, but I doubt Vlad is really as big a threat anymore. In case you haven't noticed, you've gotten much stronger during the past year." Danny blushed as Sam indicated toward his growing muscle mass. "Besides, we've dealt with him before, and we have won. I'm sure we can take hi on again."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Danny felt a little better as said that, because he knew it was true. He was still worried, and with good reason, but he knew that he could take on whatever the old man threw at him.

"So, are you doing anything tomorrow?" Danny asked, changing the subject.

"Nothing, why do you ask?"

"Well, we only have a couple of days of summer vacation left, so I was hoping we could, you know, spend the day together, just the two of us?" Danny smiled bashfully as he shyly rubbed the back of his neck. Sam couldn't help but think of how cute he looked when he did that.

"Sure. Now, how about giving me a ride home?"

"No problem." Danny switched into his alter ego and picked up Sam bridal style.

"You know, you have a license now, you could have just driven me," Sam said with a laugh as they took for the skies.

"I know," Danny playfully answered, "but this is much more fun."

* * *

"That, was the stupidest movie I had ever seen!" Katie choked out through her laughter.

"I know! Can you believe the little kid screamed "Watch out mommy!" five minutes after she was killed in front of him?" Tucker said, also laughing.

"There was a lot of really bad editing in that movie. Did you see how many times the boom mike was clearly visible?" Katie said, still laughing.

Tucker and Katie had just come out of the movie theatre and were walking home. They were roaring with laughter at the debacle of a horror film they had just seen. They were laughing so hard, they couldn't speak for half the walk home. Finally their laughter died down enough for them to talk.

"You know, the movie may have sucked, but I still had a lot of fun tonight." Katie's voice cutthe silence of the block they were passing through.

"Me too," Tucker said, "I'm glad we had a chance to do this."

"Well, this is my stop." They walked up to Katie's front door and paused to say their goodbyes.

"Goodnight, Tuck, and thanks for everything." 

Katie pecked Tucker on the cheek and smiled. Tucker then leaned in and kissed her. Not a second later, the two broke apart, their eyes wide with shock as the same thought went through their head.

"Wow, that was awkward," they said in unison. Both were instantly relieved when they saw that the other had felt the same way.

"Oh, great, you noticed it, too," Katie said with a sigh of relief, "I'm sorry, Tuck, it just felt like I was kissing my brother, you know what I mean?"

"Yup, I know exactly what you mean," Tucker said with a small laugh. "So, are you speaking from experience?" he asked mischieviously.

"Ew! Of course not!" Katie shouted, horrified at the thought of kissing her little brother.

"I'm just messing with you," Tucker laughed. "So, still friends?"

"Did we ever stop?"

They both laughed light-heartedly as all the tension dissipated.

"So, wanna go to the arcade tomorrow?" Tucker asked.

"Sure, but this time it's on me. Call it a big 'I owe you', okay." Katie said playfully.

"Cool, see you tomorrow!"

* * *

**So, that's chapter 9, what did you think? It kind of sucked, but I've written worse. The TxK fluff at the end was hard to write, but it had to be done (don't ask why, it just did, okay!). Wow, this took so long to write! Anyway, it's done now so please, please review! It gives me encouragement and helps me remember where I'm going with chapter 10. Hopefully I'll get another chapter up before my birthday, so keep a lookout! Thanks for reading and please review!**


	10. Musings and Celebration

**I am finally getting down to chapter 10! This chapter is mostly musings on Vlad's return, as well as how the world views Danny now that everything has died down a bit. Thank you everyone for the reviews for the last chapter! I'm sorry this chapter is a little late, but I had computer issues and then I went back to school after I got my new computer, so I actually had to do my homework. Please review and let me know what you think, thank you!**

Chapter 10: Musings and Celebration

"_Earlier this week Vlad Masters was spotted near his retreat in the Colorado Rockies. This was the first sighting of our former mayor since he disappeared a year ago. We now turn to Lance Thunder, who is on location right now."_ The blonde anchorwoman smiled brightly as the screen switched over to an equally blonde man standing about a hundred yards away from a large mountain lodge.

"_Thanks Tiffany. Earlier this week a reporter who came to this sight to film some shots of the retreat for a documentary saw through the windows an emaciated Masters pacing in his living room. Many people are concerned about the timing of this appearance, as it happened just a week before the anniversary of…"_

"I can't believe this!" an annoyed Danny said as he turned off the television, "Vlad's been back for over two months, and their just finding this out about this now?" Danny, Ticker, Sam, and Katie were sitting in Danny's living room waiting for the rest of the Fenton clan to come down.

"Well, he has been pretty quiet," Katie pointed out. "He probably just wants to be left alone."

"Still, I'm surprised that there wasn't an attempt to try to throw him into jail as soon as they found him last Tuesday."

"Well, I'm not," Katie said. "To be honest I'm surprised you are, Tuck"

Everybody turned to Katie, surprised at what she said. It was Tucker that echoed everybody's thoughts. "Katie, what are you talking about? He cheated the whole world!"

"Actually, he didn't. Tucker, you are in the political game now. You have to have noticed that legally, Vlad did nothing wrong. He offered a service, for a price, mind you, and went to fully prepared to complete said service. He did not lie in what he said he could do. Unfortunately, what he promised to do did not work, rendering the agreement null and void. He did the right thing and didn't come back to claim 'payment' for what he was supposed to do. Therefore, he can't be put in jail because he didn't do anything wrong from legal standpoint. It's all business – business and politics." Katie did not flinch or even falter from the stare she was giving the three friends while she made this speech. She knew what she spoke was the truth. It was a painful truth, but the truth nonetheless.

Danny was dumbfounded. Two months ago Katie was felt hurt and betrayed by this man, and now she was defending him? "Katie, why are you defending him? Yes, maybe the law won't give him what he deserves for trying to take over the world, but what about all the other stuff? He is liable there." Danny was a bit bitter on this subject.

"First of all, I'm impressed that you know what liable means. Second, yes, he is liable for his actions but you can't prove it in a court of law. You have no evidence to prove that he did any of that stuff and Vlad is smart enough to know how to go through this undetected. Besides, in the end it's going to be your word versus Vlad's, and his is going to look better. Truth is, he told nobody but you about his activities, and anyone involved in them wouldn't be able to remember what happened." Katie defended her argument with a strange cynical passion that caused her friends to become concerned

"Wait, so he's going to go unpunished? You told me he would get what was coming to him! Whose side are you on?" Danny yelled angrily.

"Danny, calm down. I'm on your side, alright, but I'm being realistic. Vlad will get what's coming to him, but it won't be through ordinary means. His fall from grace is his earthly punishment. His name is in the mud. He has no power, no prestige, no allies, neither here nor in the Ghost Zone. He is the epitome of an outcast, shunned by the society that once held him to such admiration. For a guy like Vlad, that's worse than what any penal system could do to him.

"Look, I don't like Vlad either. He's done some horrible things. Still, that doesn't mean that I'm going to sit here and convince myself that our justice system works in this case. It's hard truth to accept, and believe me it's the truth, but deal with it. There are truths much harsher than this and if you can't accept it then you'll never survive in the real world." The trio stared in slight disbelief as Katie finished her little speech. They weren't surprised at what she said, they all knew it was true, but it was the way that she said it.

"Katie, since when did you become such a cynic? I thought that was Sam's job," Tucker asked half light-heartedly, half serious. He was voicing the thoughts of all three of listeners, as he seems to do quite often lately.

"Look, I had to grow up a lot in the past year." Katie answered quietly. Thankfully, before the mood could get any more serious and depressing, Danny's dad came with a big smile in with the rest of the family trailing behind him.

"Why is everybody so glum? It's a celebration today! Come on kids, let's go to City Hall! Danny can't be late for his own ceremony, now can he? Katie, your parents said they'd meet you there. Now let's go!" Jack's happy mien lifted everybody's mood. Soon they were all out the door, ready for the excitement of the day. You see, today happened to be the one year anniversary of Danny saving the world, so in honor of the occasion, the City of Amity Park was celebrating. All schools and businesses were closed and there was going to be a huge carnival. Well, Danny was making a speech in honor of the occasion first, but then there was going to be the carnival, and everybody was looking forward to the carnival.

* * *

"In the end, this past year has been nothing more than an ordinary year in most of our lives. But it is not this year in itself that was special, but rather that we were actually here to see it. It was thanks to the amazing men and women who helped out last year in our effort to save the world that we did get to experience another year. Thank you." The crowd applauded as Danny left the podium got off the stage set up in front of City Hall in order to go join his family and girlfriend in the plaza below. He had just finished his speech to commemorate the events of this day last year, and now he, like everybody else in the audience, was itching to go to the carnival.

Finally, Tucker went up to the podium to end the day's official ceremony and get the party started. "First of all, I would just like to thank everybody for being here. Now I know how much all of you want to listen to me speak, but I want to get to the carnival. So I officially declare today's ceremonies done. Now let's go pig out!" The crowd roared with applause as they ran toward the park where the carnival was being held.

Meanwhile, way in the back of the crowd, far removed from all other people, three sixteen year-old girls were talking quietly among themselves.

"I can't believe it's been a year since we found out," the blonde girl commented.

"Yeah, I know. It seems weird though, doesn't it? Knowing all this responsibility now rests on our shoulders? It's kind of cool and kind of scary at the same time," said the raven-haired girl.

"Yeah," replied the third girl, a brunette. She surveyed the raven-haired girl for a minute before finally voicing the thought that had been pestering her for the past hour: "You haven't told him yet, about last year, have you?"

The girl with the raven hair looked taken back at being so directly interrogated. "What are you talking about?" she asked nervously.

"Katie, don't play dumb with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Now answer the question." The brunette sounded annoyed. She had warned Katie repeatedly, but to no avail.

"Not that it's any of your business, Jess, but no, I haven't told him yet, and if I have any say in the matter I never will. He doesn't need to know that about me, at least not yet." Katie was defiant in her answer.

Jess sighed in frustration. "Katie," she said much more sympathetically, "I know it's hard, but you have to tell him. He's going to find out eventually, and you know I'm right. Trust me when I say the whole thing will go down a lot easier if you tell him before he finds out through… other means."

"Look, I appreciate the advice, but I'll handle it my way. Anyway, I have to go. I promised my cousin that I'd meet up with him, well, now, so I really need to catch up with him. See you later!" With that Katie ran off toward the carnival, leaving the other two girls behind.

"Does she realize that the longer she waits, the harder he'll take it?" the blonde girl asked worriedly.

"I don't know, Molly, but I hope she gets the courage to say something soon."

* * *

"Tuck, remind me again, why we are having a carnival to celebrate Danny saving the world?" Sam was definitely amused by this idea.

"Well, it is a celebration and Danny didn't want a parade, and carnivals are just awesome so I decided to throw a carnival instead. Everybody loves carnivals!"

"Hey, sorry I'm late!" Katie said as she ran to them, "So, what did I miss?"

The four friends spent hours enjoying the celebration. They rode all the cheesy rides, ate as much carnival food as they could stomach, and picked up a fifth member of their group, Valerie, along the way. By the time evening rolled around, the five friends had tried everything they possibly could at least twice, and they were now heading over to the Ferris Wheel for one last view of the city lit up before heading home.

They were on line, about to get on the ride when Katie noticed something in the shadows out of the corner of her eye. "You know what you guys, you go ahead. I'll catch up with you later, alright?"

"Katie, are you alright? You seem kind of distracted," Danny asked out of concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to do something. I'll meet up with you when you get off." Katie walked away from the group toward the shadow of a popcorn stand that had shut down for the night. There was a shadowy figure waiting for her there, casually leaning against the flimsy wall of the stand.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed angrily at the figure.

"Well, Katherine, if you must know I had some business to attend to here. Unfortunately, no one told me about the celebration." The figure stepped out if the shadow of the tent. Katie glared at the calm face Vlad Masters. "How are you doing? The last time I saw you we got off on the wrong foot."

"You are very cocky for someone in hiding. You better leave before somebody spots you. The people here will kill you on sight and I will not hesitate to give you to them." The gravity in Katie's voice showed that she wasn't playing games with him.

"Ah, I see, you're still bitter about the last time we met. Fine, I never used your family to get to Jack; if I had it would have made the process much faster."

"Then why pay my way through school? Why go through the trouble?"

"Because, Katherine, you have a brilliant mind. I noticed from the moment I met you that you were sharp as a tack and clever as a fox, and quite frankly, my dear, I knew that I would benefit from someone of your intelligence on my side. That and your status piqued my interest. Of course, any one of the Parcae would."

At first Katie was mildly surprised at how bold Vlad was. But soon that surprise became turned into anger. "Tell anyone about that I will make the little of what is left of your life a living hell!" Katie pinned Vlad to the wall, holding him there with the sickle blade of her long-handled weapon. Her now gray eyes glared murderously at the man, showing that she meant business. The older man, however, still kept his calm demeanor.

"The scythe, not the staff? That is a surprise, now isn't it? Well, I should have known from your proficiency at languages that you would receive the scythe. Still, the staff seemed to suit your personality better. I guess we don't always get what we expect, do we?"

"No we don't." Katie's tone was bitter. Still, she never removed her eyes from the man standing in front of her. "And if you dare to utter a word more on the subject I will shove something you don't expect up your…"

"I get the picture, Katherine, there's no need to elaborate. I will not tell young Daniel anything about you."

Katie lowered her scythe in surprise. "I never said anything about…"

"You didn't need to. He's the only one who would even give it any thought. Though, of course I would be a bit less obvious about it." With that Vlad walked away, leaving an angry and annoyed Katie behind.

After Katie spent a few minutes calming down, she went to go catch up with her friends. They all walked home together, laughing and joking. Katie didn't mention her conversation with Vlad to anybody that night, and if everything worked out as planned she was going to bring it with her to the grave. Of course, very few things ever go as planned. Too bad Katie forgot to take that into account.

* * *

**So, what do you think? And yes, I do love carnivals (I haven't been to one in ages! I miss the food!). I know this chapter was a little slow, but it needed to get done. If you want to know what exactly Vlad was referring to, I suggest you pick up a Latin-English dictionary. In case you haven't noticed, one of those would be very helpful at figuring things out. But, if you're too lazy to find one, all will be revealed eventually, I promise! BTW, I'm sorry this was up so late, but I had computer issues, so I couldn't write until I got my new computer for my birthday, and then I went back to school so, yeah. Sorry again! Anyway, please review, thank you!**


	11. The Christmas Party

**I'm finally writing this chapter, I'm so excited!! I have been waiting to write this chapter and three or four following it (I'm still debating how I'm going to separate them) for such a long time! I would come up with ideas for these chapters while trying to figure out what to write for the previous ones, so these have been planned for such a long time. Okay, so in case you couldn't tell, I am super excited to write chapter 11, so please, please review! Enjoy! By the way this isn't as fillerish as it looks, trust me.**

Chapter 11: The Christmas Party

"Ho ho ho, and what would you like little girl?" Danny held back a small groan as he realized just how stifling it was in the Santa suit he was wearing. _I can't believe Katie talked me into this!_ Finally the small girl finished her long list of various toys and pets she wanted for Christmas.

"Here you go, Merry Christmas!" Katie handed the small girl a candy-cane as she got off Danny's lap and skipped away happily.

"Remind me again why I'm here?" Danny asked half jokingly.

"Well, you're here because we needed someone to play Santa and you had to be here anyway." Katie held back her laughter as she watched her cousin struggle with the white beard he was wearing. Danny had volunteered to be Santa at the Amity Museum Christmas Party fundraiser, which the museum was having for the exhibit Katie's parents were curating. Katie, to ease his suffering, volunteered to be Santa's elf. She knew she shouldn't be laughing, considering what she looked like in her elf suit, but Danny was barely recognizable under all the padding and the beard and she just couldn't resist.

"So, are you going to the Christmas Party in the Ghost Zone?" Danny asked.

"No, I don't think you'll see me there. You and Sam have fun." Katie smiled weakly, knowing that her cousin was nervous about going. She felt bad that she couldn't help him, but she was needed elsewhere. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. There's the truce, so no one can mess with you today. Now come on, smile a little. Unless you are already, I can't really tell with the beard."

Danny laughed and relaxed a little. As stupid as it sounds, he had forgotten about the truce.

The night passed on, and the museum's Christmas Party continued. After Danny had finished playing Santa, he hung out with Sam and Ticker for the rest of the party. Everyone had a blast, but Danny and Sam really couldn't wait to head to the ghosts' Christmas party. Finally, Katie delivered the good news that they could leave. Although Danny and Sam were having fun, they couldn't hide their excitement as they leapt from their seats and hurried out of the museum, leaving Tucker and Katie laughing at the sight.

* * *

The Christmas Truce Party was, to both Danny's and Sam's surprise, a lot of fun. There was various food and drink that was actually edible and quite delicious, too (ghosts also enjoy a good meal when they can get it), and good music. All the ghosts were amiable and talkative, even Skulker. It was a surprisingly good time, and everyone was enjoying it.

One of the advantages of coming to the party was that Danny saw not only all the ghosts he knew (and on amiable terms, for once), but he also met some that he had never seen before. Danny never knew that there was such a diversity of ghosts! Some are monstrous, some are obsessive, but many are just like normal people. In coming to the Christmas Party Danny realized how little he actually knew about the Ghost Zone. He found out more about the way the Ghost Zone worked by spending a couple of hours at the party than he had in the two years he spent exploring it since he got his powers. Then again, that could be because of the appearance of some very special guests.

Danny was talking to the Ghostwriter (after apologizing fifty times for what he did a couple of years ago), when three figures stepped into the room. Everything in the room stopped as they entered, the silence in among the crowd implying both shock and deep respect for them. Danny turned toward the entrance and saw the three ghosts begin to walk in.

One was dressed in a periwinkle cloak, with a floor-length dress of the same color. She held an elegantly carved staff of the same color as her clothing, and had long, straight white hair and eyes the color of star sapphires. Although she looked like she was about Danny's age, she had the grave air of someone with the wisdom of a thousand lifetimes.

The second had bright pink eyes and a kind smile on her face that made her seem so much more jovial than the first. She had a dress and cloak like the first girl, only she was dressed all in pink and had shoulder length curly hair. However, the bow and quiver of arrows she had on her showed that she was not to be taken lightly.

It was the third, however, that really caught Danny's eye. The ghost was wearing a long black cloak that covered its entire body and its hood was pulled up so Danny couldn't tell whether it was a boy or a girl, or even what it looked like. Its demeanor was neither cold nor inviting, nor was it really anything. It was just there, an avoidable fact. Danny watched in both fear and awe as long, skeletal hands caressed its scythe as it quietly followed the two girl-ghosts. Although it said nothing and did nothing, the message was clear: this was not someone you wanted to mess with.

"Who are they?" Danny finally asked the Ghostwriter. Both he and Sam listened intently as the Ghostwriter began to explain more about these strange guests.

"Those are the Fates. The first one, the one in periwinkle, that's Fata, or Destiny. The second one in pink is Amora, Love. The last one is…"

"Morta, or Death," Sam interrupted him, having had a revelation. "They keep the balance of order both in our world and here. I knew I recognized them from somewhere! I read about them in a book a while ago."

"Yes, I was just about to say that." The Ghostwriter was obviously annoyed that she interrupted him. "Is there anything else you would like to add?"

"No, I don't remember much else," Sam said shyly.

"Too bad, because many of us don't know much more than that," the Ghostwriter said sadly. "The Fates are very secretive, and mostly keep to themselves. Only the few bold enough to try to tempt or cross them have any knowledge about them beyond the superficial, and even fewer dare to tell it."

"Wow, that makes them a lot more intimidating, especially the last one," Danny noted.

"No, they are actually quite amicable, even Morta. I had a very interesting conversation with her about Henry VIII last week. Despite what she represents, she has a great sense of humor."

"Oh, that's cool. I never would have… wait a minute, Death's a girl?" Danny asked, surprised. Danny had heard always heard Death personified as, well, a guy. He may have slept through most of his English classes, but that managed to sink in.

"Yes Danny, she's one of the legendary _sisters_ of fate, of course she's a girl. Unfortunately, the sexist pigs who first personified Death made her masculine because a girl couldn't possibly handle something of this magnitude," and with that Sam began to rant about sexism in classic literature.

"Is she always like this?" the Ghostwriter asked Danny.

"Yeah, but you get used to it. Besides, if she wasn't she wouldn't be Sam."

At some point during this conversation, everyone started celebrating again and the party was back in full swing. Danny decided he'd figure out more about the Fates later. As for now, he decided to pull Sam out of her rant and go back to celebrating this wonderful holiday we call Christmas.

* * *

Danny and Sam got home from the party very late. Late enough, in fact, that Sam had to spend the night at Danny's house. In both their opinions, the party was great. However, they returned home pretty exhausted and fell asleep almost instantaneously.

Despite the excitement of the previous night, Danny woke up pretty early the next day. Danny got off the couch (he was sleeping there because he gave Sam his bedroom) and quietly walked over to the kitchen to make himself breakfast. He was actually up early on Christmas morning for once, and he was going to enjoy the peace and quiet that was very rarely present in his home, especially today.

Danny spent most of his "quiet time" deep in thought, recalling what he had seen last night. After his conversation with the Ghostwriter, he couldn't help but watch the three Fates as the interacted with all the ghosts. It turns out that the Ghostwriter was right when he said that they were, in fact, very friendly. Destiny and Love were very social, chatting nonstop with many of the ghosts. Love got up and danced for sometime also, with Destiny and Death laughing at her, until she finally pulled Destiny onto the dance floor.

The three of them looked like they were having a great time, but there was something about Death that intrigued Danny. Destiny and Love acted like normal teenage girls, dancing and talking to everyone there. Death, however, was much quieter, as if she didn't want to draw attention to herself. She was by no means antisocial, and seemed was very amicable. However, it seemed like she was avoiding someone, which, considering what she was, was a bit strange. At one point he managed to strike up a conversation with the other two Fates, and when he asked them about it they just said she was preoccupied.

Later that night, the three left the same way they came in, together as a single trio with no one else in their party. This time, they were a bit happier than they came in (though it was hard to tell with Death, as she never took down her hood), but he noticed something in their tight formation that he didn't see there before. They weren't just being friendly, they were protecting each other. From what he couldn't be sure, but he knew that they were so tight-knit for that reason.

There was something about the Fates that intrigued Danny beyond just their obvious mysteriousness. Danny was absolutely fascinated by these girls, and he decided that he was determined to find out more about them. Sam had mentioned something about reading about them in a book, so he was hoping that he could convince Sam to find it for him. Soon the sound of the front door opening interrupted Danny's musings.

"Brr… It's cold out there. Good morning, Danny, why are you up so early?" Katie walked into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. Danny looked at the clock and saw that it was about 9:00, yet Katie was obviously very much awake.

"Oh, no reason just felt like it." Danny said nonchalantly.

Katie eyed him suspiciously, but then she just shrugged it off. "Cool. So, how was the party?"

"It was great. You were right, me and Sam had a lot of fun."

"Uh, it's 'Sam and I'." Katie corrected him

'Whatever." It was early in the morning, at least for Danny, and he really didn't feel the need to use proper grammar. He was just about to alert Katie to this fact when he realized that now would be a great time to ask Katie a burning question.

"Hey, Katie" he asked innocently enough, "what do you know about the Fates?"

To say that Katie was surprised by this question would be like describing the Hope Diamond simply as blue. The question stopped her dead in her tracks and she nearly dropped her mug. Thankfully, she quickly composed herself, but some of her initial shock could still be seen.

"Not much," Katie answered carefully, "Why?"

"No reason, I just saw them at the Christmas party," Danny answered calmly. "Nobody really knew much about them, but everybody knew who they were."

"Yes, the Fates are very mysterious, and it's for the better. They can be dangerous in very subtle ways, so be careful around them," Katie warned.

"Masters should have realized that by now," Katie muttered her breath. She didn't think Danny heard it, but he did. Thankfully, he just let it go this time.

"So, why are you here so early anyway?" Danny asked to change the obviously uncomfortable subject.

"Didn't your mom tell you? I'm helping to cook dinner."

"Great, now you are going to make sure the food attacks me, aren't you?"

The pair laughed quietly, afraid of waking up the rest of the house. They continued to talk until everyone else came down, when Katie finally had to cook. Eventually Danny reluctantly left the kitchen. But as soon as he left the friendly atmosphere the kitchen provided, he began to get increasingly anxious as he realized that Katie never answered his question. _Well,_ he thought, _at least I know how to use my steak knife as weapon._

**I'm sorry it's been taking me so long to update, but school has been keeping me so busy lately! Anyway, I hope you like the chapter and please review, they make me very happy. Thanks for reading!**


	12. Decisions

**First of all, thanks for all the wonderful reviews for the last chapter. Anyway, just know that chapters 12, 13, and 14 happen consecutively on the same day/night. Alright, enough of my blathering, let's get on with the story! Please review, thank you! Enjoy!**

Chapter 12: Decisions

Danny woke up with a start and looked around startled until he remembered he was still in school. He had fallen asleep during another one of Mr. Lancer's lectures, a fact which didn't surprise him. _I guess I just have to get the notes from Sam… again. She's going to kill me._ Danny pondered what he had been dreaming about as he slowly packed his bag. He had dreamed of the Fates again. They were warning him about something, but he didn't understand what.

It's been a few months since the party, but Danny's curiosity about the Fates held strong. For the first couple of weeks Danny, Sam, and Tucker spent many hours in the library or on the internet, trying to find any information they could. They found a lot of books on ancient mythology that spoke of the Fates, but all the sources said the same thing and none of it was what Danny was looking for. Eventually they gave up the search, but Danny's curiosity didn't subside. He even went as far as to ask Clockwork for help, but the time ghost refused to give him any information, saying "They will tell you in time."

Then, of course, there was Katie. No matter how many times he had pressed her, Katie refused to give Danny any information she knew, or even to help them search, saying "the answer is not worth the price to find it." Katie had been acting kind of weird since the Christmas party, when he had first questioned her about the Fates. Katie became very guarded whenever the subject came up, and she became increasingly nervous as their search continued. However, Danny just attributed this to Katie being overprotective. She started acting more normal since the search died down a bit recently due to the fact they were running out of library materials.

"Hey, Danny, come on before the line gets too long!"

Danny was pulled out of his thoughts as said cousin called his attention. Danny watched helplessly as Katie happily grabbed his arm and dragged him to the cafeteria.

"That was certainly an interesting class, wasn't it? I never knew the psychology of Poe's works could be so interesting! Who knew that guy in "The Tell Tale Heart" was a textbook example of a schizophrenic?"

Danny chuckled quietly to himself as he realized Katie was acting a bit like Jazz today. It was kind of funny, because she usually wasn't this excited about psychology.

"Really, beacause I sort of fell asleep in class again so I wouldn't know." Danny averted his gaze as he waited for her to reprimand him for falling asleep in class for the third time this week.

"Again? Well, you missed a really interesting topic. Don't worry I'll lend you the notes. Just do me a favor and try to get more sleep."

Danny was surprised. Normally Katie would have bitterly chastised him for falling asleep again, but instead she was actually understanding about it today. He was trying to figure out why Katie was acting so happy when it hit him.

"You found out that I stopped looking for information, didn't you?"

"Yes," Katie said gleefully, "I did. I know you're upset, but it's better off this way. Curiosity killed the cat, you know."

"I still don't get why you don't want me learn more. What's the harm?" Danny sat down at the lunch table where Tucker was already waiting for him, and Katie followed suit.

"Danny, it doesn't matter. So, what's up Tuck?" Katie happily changed the subject over to Tucker who went into a lengthy description of some new computer game that was coming out until Sam joined their table. Danny looked up at his girlfriend to see her triumphantly slam an old, dusty book onto the table.

"Uh, what is that?" Danny asked cautiously.

"Well, remember when I said I had a book that contained a lot of the information that we were looking for but I couldn't find it? Well, I found it." Sam smiled with pride as she pushed ancient volume toward her boyfriend.

"You did? Awesome!" Danny's joy couldn't be contained as flipped through the pages. "This is unbelievable! Thanks, Sam!"

Sam chuckled to herself as she observed Danny's eager expression. In all the time she had known him, Sam had never seen Danny so excited to read a book.

Katie, on the other hand, was not amused. She looked on with a scowl, all traces of her earlier joy gone. Her mood only got worse as Sam took the book from Danny and went to the page they needed.

"It starts off by saying the stuff we knew from all the other research we did," Sam explained, "but here it starts describing the same stuff we heard at the party, which instantly makes it different then all the other books."

Upon hearing this Katie face began to pale. She was not expecting that.

"Look here, there're all sorts of information!" Sam continued, "There is stuff about their personalities, some powers, and more. Obviously it doesn't have everything because even they admit the Fates are mysterious, but it still has a lot more than any other book we had seen.

"Here, this was interesting 'Morta has one advantage over her sisters, and that is her extraordinary mastery of languages. While the other two are able to come to an understanding with others through actions alone, Morta has the unique gift of being able to verbally communicate with anyone she needs to. This is to make her less intimidating to those who she is called for...' Isn't this absolutely fascinating?"

"Yeah it is. Now come on Katie, you can't tell me this isn't cool." Danny turned to face his cousin with a smug look, only to find she wasn't there. "Uh, where did she go?"

"She said she wasn't feeling well and ran out while you guys were reading," Tucker answered. "She really looked sick, man. She was all pale and looked kind of clammy when she left. She said to tell you that she'll see you later and that she's fine."

Danny shrugged it off and went back to the book. He spent the entire lunch period absorbed in the curious tome Sam had brought. He was so entranced by it that he didn't even touch his meatloaf (which Tucker selflessly polished off for him). The mysteries the book brought forth entertained Danny all day, distracting him from the world around him.

At least, he was distracted from everything except the fact that Katie was avoiding him. He couldn't help but wonder what the problem was with his cousin. Why would she have a problem with the Fates? Maybe she had a personal experience with them and didn't want Danny to repeat her mistakes. _No, that's not something Katie would do_, he thought when he instantly dismissed the idea, _she's too cautious to do anything to cross them, but she said only someone who did would know more than the obvious…_

Then he remembered something that Katie had said the day he first approached her about the topic, that day months ago that seems like just yesterday. After Katie had told him how dangerous the Fates could be, she had mumbled something that she thought Danny hadn't heard, but he did. _"Masters should have realized that by now,"_ she had muttered under her breath. Danny had not paid attention to it at the time, but now its implications were as clear as day.

"Vlad knows something," Danny said out loud, surprising his girlfriend who had been quietly reading next to him.

"Danny, what are you talking about?"

"Vlad knows something about the Fates. Katie accidently let it slip once, but I didn't realize it until now."

"That's great Danny, but what exactly does that mean?" Sam asked a bit sarcastically as she was a little miffed that she was interrupted. She was just getting to the good part of her book.

"It means that I have to pay an unexpected visit to an old enemy."

* * *

Danny sped up as the cabin came into view. As soon as school ended Danny took off for Vlad's mountain lodge, and he was nearly there now. The wind from the flight rushed through Danny's hair, pulling it back from his face. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he tried to figure out what he was going to say. But before he knew it, he had reached his destination. Figuring it was now or never, Danny closed his eyes and entered the cabin intangibly and invisibly.

Danny found Vlad in his study, poring over a book as thick as an encyclopedia. Danny took a deep breath as he finally turned himself visible.

"Ah, Daniel, what brings you here so unexpectedly?" Vlad was surprisingly calm as he closed his book and placed it on the table next to him. To Danny it seemed like Vlad had been expecting him to barge in at some point.

"I need to ask you something important." It took all of Danny's effort to stay under control. He so badly wanted to blast this guy's head off, but he needed to keep his cool if he was going to get the answers he needed.

"No hello? Your parents would be very disappointed in you. Then again you are Jack's son. But what is it that you need to ask?" Of course, Vlad already knew what Danny came to ask, he had expected it since his last conversation with Katie. Still, he couldn't let the boy know that.

"What do you know about the Fates?"

"Ah, the Parcae, yes, I do know a little something about them. Although, I'm surprised you're coming to me and not Katherine. She would know much more than I do."

"What are you talking about? What does Katie have to do with anything?" Danny tried to hide his anxiety under a mask of annoyance.

"You can't honestly tell me you don't have suspicions." There was an unmistakable mocking tone in Vlad's voice that showed that he knew something Danny didn't.

"Suspicions? Suspicions about what?"

"Well, don't you think that Katherine's explanation of her abilities just randomly appearing is a bit thin? You and I both know from experience that our states aren't at all natural. In fact we're nearly outcasts because of them."

"That doesn't mean anything," Danny said dejectedly. He unfortunately realized there was some truth to what his rival had said. "What are you getting at?" Danny's curiosity had given way, and the older man knew he had the boy now.

"Daniel, do you really think being half ghost is the only secret Katherine hid from you?" The silence that followed his question was all that Vlad needed as an answer. It was clear from Danny's expression that the boy wasn't confident in an answer, or if he was he wouldn't dare say it.

"I didn't think so. Daniel, Katherine has more skeletons in her closet than I do, quite literally in fact." Vlad watched the boy's stunned reaction. At first he thought that this was too easy, but then Danny's surprise quickly turned into anger.

"No, you're lying!" Danny accused. "You've always lied to me, I don't know why I thought that would change." Danny turned around and began to stalk toward the door. "This was so stupid, coming here! I knew I couldn't trust you!"

"No, Daniel, you came because you know just as well as I do that I have actually been quite honest with you most of the time," Vlad stated in his defense. "You knew that I had the answers that you needed, so you came to someone you could trust to tell you the truth."

Danny turned to face Vlad and was about to angrily snap a retort, but Vlad interrupted him. "Don't start, Daniel, you know I'm right. If you don't believe me, ask Katherine about what I said and see what answer you get."

"You're bluffing." Danny tried to sound indignant, but his voice betrayed his desperation to hold on to this shred of hope

"No, I'm not, and I can tell that you know." Vlad defiantly answered.

Danny, unable to take anymore, quickly flew out the lodge. Vlad smiled to himself as he watched the boy go, fully aware of what he had just done. _Katherine's ire will certainly be interesting_, he couldn't help but think to himself. _I just wish I could be there, it would make things so much easier._

* * *

The whole flight home, Danny had thought about what Vlad had said. As much as Danny hated to admit it, and he really hated to admit it, Vlad was right about Katie hiding something from him. Danny decided that as soon as he got home, he was going to ask her about it. Why should he wait until the next morning, when he might forget it? No, he was better off getting some explanations as soon as possible, that way Vlad's voice could stop pestering him long enough to get some much needed sleep.

Danny soon reached his home, and once he had he flew into the open window next door. He found himself in Katie's bedroom, the one right across the tiny alley from his bedroom. The soft moonlight fell on his cousin's peacefully sleeping form. Danny glanced at the clock quickly and found that it read one in the morning, much to his surprise. He didn't think it was that late. Still, nothing could deter him from his mission. Danny took in a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself to interrogate Katie. He was about to wake her up when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Well, ghost boy," the whisper-like voice said, "we meet again."

"Nocturn, what do you want?" Danny asked bitterly.

"Well, I heard you were having trouble communicating with your cousin, so I'm here to help you figure out her secret."

"Yeah, well I don't need your help!" Danny stated defiantly as he prepared to fight.

"Oh, but you see, you do. Dreams are the pathway to the subconscious, where all secrets are hidden, and I can get you there. Playing Spanish Inquisition will not work on her. You need me."

"In your dreams," Danny retorted.

"No, actually, in hers." And before Danny could react, Nocturn had thrown him into Katie's body.

As Danny entered the body he began to fall endlessly, deeper and deeper into Katie's mind, until finally he blanked out.

**So, that's chapter 12. Okay, the next chapter is going to be Katie's dream. Please review, they make me very happy. Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it!**


	13. Dreams

**I now present to you Chapter 13. Chapter 13 is a dream sequence, just so you know. I have a rough outline for the rest of the story, and it looks like it's going to be 28 chapters plus an epilogue. This may change with time, but that's what it looks like now. Thank you so much for the reviews for the last chapter, I loved them. **

**Oh, and just to clarify, Danny is not an idiot, he is just in serious denial. **

**Please read and review, thank you! Enjoy!**

Chapter 13: Dreams

Danny woke up slowly, his eyes slowly adjusting to the light in the room. He couldn't believe it was morning already. Cautiously, Danny got up and got ready to leave, when he realized something. He was no longer in his cousin's room, or at least the one he remembers. The walls were a light lavender color, instead of pale blue, and it was much smaller. The mauve bedspread bed was covered with stuffed animals, mostly lions and tigers and bears (Oh my!). There were posters of boy bands and ancient societies all over the place. _On second thought, maybe this does look a lot like Katie's room_.

Suddenly, the alarm went off. A small hand came out from underneath the covers to shut it off. Slowly, the covers were pushed forward to reveal a small figure lying on the bed. The figure rose into a sitting position and stretched, revealing a girl who looked about twelve years old. She had long black hair that came down to her waist, and her eyes were revealed be bright blue when she opened them. Danny stood still in panic, petrified to even move as he realized who this girl was. It was, indeed, a younger Katie. Then the memory of the events in Katie's room came back to him, and Danny realized that he was in Katie's dream.

"Katie!" a man's called from behind the closed door, "Wake up birthday girl! Your mother has pancakes waiting for you downstairs!"

"Okay, Dad, I'll be down in a minute!" Katie called back to her father. Danny smiled fondly at the higher-pitched voice of a younger Katie. Katie pulled off the rest of the covers and was about to get out of bed when, suddenly, she fell through. Katie slowly crawled out from under her bed, stunned at what had just happened. She looked around blankly, trying to figure out what had happened, checking the bed for holes, everything. When she couldn't find anything wrong, Katie settled for the one logical explanation she could come up with: "Well, that was weird."

Katie then walked to her dresser to get changed, an Dadnny happened to be standing right in front of it. Danny smiled and prepared to scare Katie in order to wake her up and get out of there, when Katie just walked right past him. It was if she hadn't even seen him. Danny waved his hand in front of her face. She didn't budge.

_Why can't she see me?_ Danny checked, and he was not invisible, yet Dream Katie seemed to prove otherwise.

"Happy birthday, Katherine." Danny heard an all too familiar deep voice speak from behind him. Danny smiled to greet his old friend, but Katie had a look of pure fear on her face.

"How do you know my name?" Katie nearly whispered as she turned toward the voice.

"I am Clockwork, Master of Time. I have something important to discuss with you, something that might explain why you fell through your bed before."

Then Danny remembered how Katie described getting her powers. "_I woke up on my twelfth birthday and fell through my bed. Later, I was told what I was…"_ That is when it finally hit him. The reason why neither Katie nor Clockwork could see him, why this all seems so familiar, it was all so clear now. "This isn't a dream," Danny declared "It's a memory."

The figures of Katie and Clockwork then started blur, and the setting began to change before his eyes. Danny felt insubstantial, as if he were traveling in a space between spaces. Soon the vision of Danny's surroundings sharpened, and it was clear that Danny was in another place, a much more familiar one. Danny looked around curiously, anxiously wondering why he was brought here of all places. He couldn't help but feel slightly nervous, even in the comfortable setting of his own bedroom.

"Fine, but you have to promise not to freak out, okay?" Katie said from behind him.

Danny turned around to see his cousin in ghost form, scared and anxious about what would happen next. Danny remembered this scene from over the summer, but seeing it through Katie's eyes forced him to view the situation in an entirely different light. He never noticed how difficult it was for Katie to reveal the truth. Her eyes subtly hinted at the battle that raged inside. One side obviously feared telling him, feared his rejection. The other was desperate to tell him, to finally be able to talk to the one person who would understand.

Danny continued to examine his cousin's expression, surprised at what he had seen in her tortured eyes. He was surprised to see that she was scared to tell him. They never had a problem opening up to each other, why should she be afraid now? Then he took a good look at his own face, and he understood Katie's fear.

His own face was hostile, full of hurt and reproach. It scared him just to look at it, even though he knew it wasn't meant to scare her. There was also something else, something much more subtle but still obviously there. Jealousy. He was actually jealous of her. Danny remembered this emotion, as well as the others present. He remembered them as if it was yesterday, but he didn't think that Katie saw them so clearly. Yet she never mentioned a word about his insecurities.

Danny was brought out of his reverie by another voice that he didn't remember being here. Danny looked up to see Clockwork floating above his bed. Time had stopped, literally, as the ghost spoke to his cousin.

"Katherine, aren't you forgetting something," The ghost said as he changed from an old man into a toddler.

"No, I don't think so," Katie cheekily answered.

"Katherine," the now middle-aged ghost sighed, "you're better off telling him now then later. You already jumped the first hurdle, why not the rest?"

"Because this is probably hard enough for him already, telling him more would put him into information overload."

"Perhaps you are right," The old ghost agreed. "However, tell him soon. The longer you wait, the harder it will be."

"But why does he need to know?" Katie asked defensively, "Isn't this enough?"

"When the time is right you will find out why you must tell him. As for now, I leave you to make your own mistakes. Good luck, you will need it."

And with that the time ghost left, and time resumed once more.

After seeing this whole scene play out, Danny knew why Katie had avoided him all day. It wasn't just out of the fear and insecurity that came with laying her secret out for him and making herself vulnerable. No, that was part of it, but there was something more. She was afraid of what she might say, and what he might think. Danny could tell that she felt as if their relationship was on thin ice, and she didn't want to make it worse.

Danny knew what happened next, and he did not want to see it again. Thankfully, he did not need to. Once again the people disappeared and the scene changed. Danny closed his eyes as the sensation of becoming nothing more than air took over him once again. When he finally settled, Danny came to another familiar setting. Now he was in Clockwork's castle, watching as his cousin stumbled in from the door. _Wow, I guess it really is a small world,_ Danny thought jokingly as he realized, once again, he was in a familiar and comfortable setting.

"Happy birthday, Katherine," The Master of Time greeted her.

"Funny," Katie said sarcastically, "I think how you greeted me when I first met you four years ago. Running out of ideas, aren't you Clockwork?"

"Ah, has it really been that short amount of time? Why are you so irritable this morning? You are just sixteen, too young to be this bitter so early."

"That's just it. It's early, after midnight in fact. I'm sixteen, I need sleep. You know, that thing when humans lie down and go unconscious for a few hours." Katie's tone showed that she was annoyed at the situation, but the truth is she probably didn't mind as much as she said she did.

The ghost chuckled to himself at her reaction. Danny laughed along with him. He knew that the ghost's laughter annoyed Katie even more, but it was kind of funny to see her so cranky.

"Why am I here, Clockwork?" Katie asked in a no-nonsense voice.

"Well Katherine, there is something I need to discuss with you, now that you are sixteen. I believe you were warned about it back in November?"

"That, already?" Katie asked, surprised, "Damn, I thought I had a few more months."

"No Katherine, I told you that it would be on your sixteenth birthday. Except for the meat thing, that started earlier than it was supposed to."

"Great," she said through gritted teeth, "So, what now?"

"First, you need this so that Daniel won't detect you again." Clockwork handed her the pendant she always wears, the onyx one on the thick silver chain. In the light of the all the time screens, the stone sparkled eerily.

"Again? Wait, you mean I was the one that set off his ghost sense?" Katie asked anxiously.

Clockwork simply nodded. "Your natural protection ended the minute you turned sixteen, at midnight."

"Oh. What is this?" Katie asked as she took the necklace and carefully put it on.

"It is your protection and your identification. It will remind everyone of who you are and of your agreement with them. It will also prevent any form of detection from recognizing your ecto-signature"

"Great, a dog tag, just what I always wanted," Katie said sarcastically.

"I've already explained to you your duties, so I'm just going to give you your equipment."

"What, no introduction? No easing me into it? Just handing me my stuff and sending me on my way? And here I was, eagerly awaiting a nice, long speech about the responsibility of my position and how honored I should be to receive it," Katie said with mock disappointment.

"Katherine, I explained everything to you already. You don't really want to hear it again, now do you?"

"No," Katie smiled playfully, "I just like pushing your buttons."

"I swear, if you weren't who you are I wouldn't put up with you," Clockwork sighed to himself.

"Ah, but if I wasn't who I am you wouldn't need to. So, what equipment are you handing me?"

"I thought you were tired and bitter, what happened?"

"You piqued my interest and I woke up."

"First, here is your cloak. It will protect your identity and keeps the operation impersonal." Clockwork said seriously as he handed Katie a long, black cloak with a hood. _Wait,_ Danny thought as he recognized the cloak, _I think I've seen that somewhere._

"Now I hand you the scythe. Use it wisely." Katie determinedly accepted the scythe, understanding its full meaning and power.

_No, it couldn't be!_ Danny desperately thought as the carefully built up walls of his denial began to crumble.

"You will meet the others later. Welcome to club, Morta." Clockwork smiled but his tone was serious. Katie also smiled, but gravely. She knew the time had finally come.

"No," Danny whispered in denial as the last of his protective barriers fell. He could not deny the unmistakable truth any longer. Vlad was right. All of the clues, the book's secrets, Katie's evasiveness at his questions, how Death avoided him at the party, it all came crashing down upon him, finally connecting in his mind and making sense.

Yet, deep down, Danny realized that he had always known. From the day of the party, Danny had known, but he was too afraid to admit it.

Then, before he knew it, he was falling again, endlessly falling. Katie was waking up. Now it was time for Danny to confront his cousin once and for all. It was time to tell Morta he knew the truth, consequences be damned. And soon, the falling stopped. It was time.

* * *

**So, what do you think? Thanks for reading! I'm now accepting anonymous reviews! Anyway, thanks again for reading and please tell me what you think. Thank you!**


	14. Truth

**Sorry this took so long, I've been busy with school and stuff. Thank you so much for the reviews for the last chapter. I'm sorry to say this chapter may be a little boring because it is very dialogue-heavy, but it is necessary for the plot (plus it will answer a lot of questions), so bear with me. ****Please don't forget to tell me what you think and review, because I really do appreciate your thoughts. Enjoy Chapter 14!**

Chapter 14: Truth

Katie woke up in a cold sweat from the dream she just had. She jerked up into a sitting position, closed her eyes, and concentrated on taking deep, calming breaths in order to prevent herself from going into hysterics. In Katie's opinion it was hard enough to accept who she was during waking hours, she didn't need the fact to haunt her dreams, too.

Then, Katie suddenly heard a groan at the foot of her bed. She cautiously looked over, and what she saw surprised her. There was her cousin on the floor, slowly trying to stand himself up.

"Ugh, I really should have watched where I landed," Danny mumbled to himself.

"Danny? What are you doing here? Especially since it's two o' clock in the morning?" Katie asked, absolutely befuddled by her cousin's appearance. "Wait, you're not hurt or anything, are you?"

"No, I'm fine, just a little sore," Danny said gruffly as he finally got to his feet.

"If you're okay, then why are you here? No offense, but it's a little early for social visits," Katie stated lightly.

Danny hesitated. He knew why he was here, and he knew what he had to do. After what he had just been through, it was hard to forget what his mission was. Yet, he had trouble finding the words he should use to confront Katie. So many emotions were flying around him, the most prominent of which were hurt, anger, anxiety, and, most surprisingly, fear, that he couldn't figure out how to tell her what he knew. Unfortunately, Danny didn't need to say anything, Katie read his face like an open book.

"How much did you see?" Katie's question wasn't a request, but a demand. Her eyes were narrowed as she glared reproachfully at her cousin.

Danny sighed. He knew he didn't have any other choice but to tell the truth. "Everything, I was there from your twelfth birthday on." Danny cringed, preparing to face Katie's ire from his confession. However, Katie's reaction was unexpected.

Katie took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose, as if deciding what to do next. Danny patiently waited, fearing what her decision would be. Finally, she looked up, her mind made up.

"Would you like some hot chocolate?" She asked calmly.

Danny was stunned. "Wait, so you're not mad?" he asked.

"No, of course I'm angry, Danny, you were in my dreams! It was a complete invasion of privacy! Still, you deserve an explanation from me as well as the opportunity to explain your side before I decide what to do." Katie's voice was firm, but calm, like an adult talking to a small child who had just confessed to doing something wrong.

"Now come on, let's go grab something to eat. Be careful not to wake up anyone, especially Jake and Alex."

Danny quietly followed Katie down the stairs, still confused at what was going on. It was surreal, almost like a dream, or rather a nightmare. Katie's expression was unreadable, a mask from her concentration as she remained deep in thought, trying to figure out what to say to make Danny understand without completely freaking him out.

The two teens sat in silence while Katie made the drinks, both still trying to figure out how to approach the situation at hand. The minutes passed in slow silence, as neither wanted to make the first move. Finally, Katie spoke up.

"So, what do you want to know?" she asked. "Besides everything," she added laughingly in an attempt to lighten the tension.

"Umm, when did you find out? You seemed to know already before you were given the job." Danny felt much more comfortable by Katie's light manner. He felt much more at ease, despite the tension in the room minutes ago.

"I wasn't supposed to find out until I turned sixteen, but I sort of had to be told six months early due to, um, extenuating circumstances."

"Extenuating circumstances…?"

"The whole asteroid thing. If everything didn't work out, the other Fates and I would have had to fix it."

"Oh. So you're like, the Grim Reaper, right?"

"Did you even read the book Sam gave you?" Katie asked with mock disgust from such an ignorant question. "I don't go around gathering souls. There are way too many people in the world, I would have no life! No pun intended. I don't collect souls, except for the difficult ones that come up very rarely, like, once every fifty years. I just sort of make sure that people die when they are supposed to, get it?" Judging by the confused look on Danny's face, he did not get it. Katie sighed and further explained.

"Clockwork watches over all time, which means every single aspect of it. This is a tough job for just one person, or rather ghost, so has helpers in the form of the Fates. We watch over the most challenging aspects of humanity, and make sure everything goes according to plan."

"Okay… so how did you get the job?"

"I don't know. I was chosen by my predecessor when she retired because there was something 'special' about me that made me perfect for the job," Katie bitterly replied. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, that thing you always wear, why did you call it a dog tag?"

"You mean my pendant?" Katie asked as she carefully held it up. "Well, have you ever seen it in the moonlight?"

"Yeah, I remember now! I saw it the night after you told me everything, when we met up in the park. You had fallen asleep and I saw something written on it in. I meant to ask you about it, but I don't see anything now."

Katie grabbed a piece paper and wrote a short poem on it. "Is this what you saw?" she asked she handed over the poem. Sure enough, it was the same strange Latin words that had eluded him the last time.

"I'm not surprised you forgot about it, you can only see the writing in the moonlight or in the Ghost Zone. I never understood why though. I think it has something to do with my symbolic connection to the moon or something. Anyway, it translates to something like this:

_All things must come to an end._

_Good or bad, happy or sad I end them._

_I am the most feared of the Fates by the ignorant,_

_But favored by the wise, who know my true nature._

_In the light of the moon you can see my secrets_

_For Death is the most beautiful end of the longest day._

I know it's a sucky poem, but one of the previous Fates thought it was more creative than just saying 'Hi, I'm Death'. All three of us have these, just with different things written on them and with two different stones."

"Wait, all of you have them?" Suddenly realization dawned on him. "Jessica Stanley and Mary… Molly… whatever her name is, they're the other two?"

"Um, yeah, but you're technically not supposed to know that, so don't tell anyone. I mean, you can tell Sam and Tuck about me, I don't care, but as for Jess and Molly, it's not my secret to tell. So is that it?"

"Yeah, that's it. I think I might go into information overload if I ask any more," Danny laughed.

"Great, now you can tell me what the hell you were doing in my dreams." Katie was now much more serious, her anger starting to show. Danny took a deep breath and launched into everything that had happened since he had got the book, ending with the fight with Nocturn. Katie was more sympathetic now that she got the whole story.

"The only thing I don't get," Danny said as he concluded his story, "was what Nocturn was doing. He said he was 'helping' but it looked like he was mocking me when he said that. What was he doing there anyway?"

"I think I know," Katie said quietly. "Clockwork must have sent him to do that so that I would be forced to give you answers. There are days when I hate that know-it-all."

They both laughed quietly at the expense of the time ghost. Then they both looked at the clock and, seeing that it was nearly four in the morning, they decided to end the night there, figuring they could get at least two hours of sleep before they had to wake up for school.

* * *

Unfortunately for Danny, he couldn't sleep at all after his interrogation of Katie. He spent the entire night lying in bed, thinking about what had just happened. Although he took everything pretty well before, the reality of the situation was starting to sink in. Danny didn't know what to do. He had so many different thoughts on the situation.

He was hurt because Katie decided to keep this, another big secret, from him. Only, he didn't understand why. He took it well last time, why not now? It seemed almost as if she didn't trust him. Danny would trust her with his life, why couldn't she return the favor? It was like all those years of bonding meant nothing.

He was also angry because Katie was never going to tell him this. She knew that he was looking for this information, that he was spending day after day scouring sources, desperate to find even the tiniest detail, and she refused to mention that she held all the answers. He could understand last time, but there was no excuse this time around. She knew he wanted to know, and the opportunity definitely came up more than once. How could she expect him to be honest with her and to trust her when she wouldn't share the information he needed?

When Danny met up with his friends later, he was quiet and distant from both sleep deprivation and the feelings that he carried with him from his early morning musings. His friends were concerned for him, but whenever they asked what was wrong, he just said he was tired. Sam and Tucker didn't argue with him, figuring he would tell them what was up when he was ready. Katie, however saw right through his act.

"Danny," she finally asked softly when they were in alone in sixth period History, "what's up? You've been acting really weird today and you've been avoiding me. Is this about this morning?"

"How come you didn't want to tell me before this?" Danny asked with sad eyes. "I mean, it's not like you never had the opportunity or anything. Why keep it a secret? You know you can trust me!"

"Danny," Katie sighed, "trust was never an issue. It's just that, well, I was scared. I never wanted this, and I didn't want you to be sucked into it. Given the choice, I would have never chosen this 'job', and I didn't want you to be affected by it. You have a good life, you don't need my issues to get in the way of that. I guess it was a little late to keep that attitude once you started searching, but the thought still made me uneasy. I thought that the longer you fruitlessly searched, the more frustrated you would get and eventually you would just stop. I guess I was wrong"

"I get it," Danny said, smiling slightly to show his forgiveness. "Just promise me no more secrets, okay?"

"No more secrets," Katie agreed, returning her cousin's smile. They shook hands, closing the deal.

With the crisis now averted, the two teens laughed and joked quietly as the bell rang, signaling that it was time to go their next class. For once, everything was right with the world, at least for now.

**

* * *

**

**So, what did you think? I'll try to update as soon as I can, but I'm not sure when that will be. I will definitely update before the end of the month though. Anyway, thank you for reading and for the kind reviews for the last chapter; keep them coming! Thanks again!**


	15. Murphy's Law

**I'm done!! School is finally over!! Sorry, I am just so happy, so here is the next chapter! **

**Okay, here is a small break from the serious stuff, an interlude if you will. Thank you very much for the reviews for the last chapter! Enjoy Chapter 15!**

**_Please read the author's note at the end, it has some important information!_**

Chapter 15: Murphy's Law

It was a warm, sunny May day in Amity Park, and Danny and his friends were spending the glorious weather within the confines of Casper High much to their, and everyone else's, disappointment. Currently our favorite group of friends was sitting in Mr. Lancer's English class, not even bothering to pay attention to the educator's lecture on the importance of color in _The Great Gatsby_. The warm sunny air from outside blew in through the open windows, mercilessly teasing the bored students. Thankfully, the period was slowly, but surely, getting closer to its end. Finally, after what seemed like the most torturous period ever, the bell rang and the entire class bolted for the door.

"Sweet freedom!" Tucker exclaimed once he had exited the dreaded classroom.

"Not yet," Katie said sullenly, "we still have another three hours to endure."

"Hey, at least we get a break. I thought I was going to die of boredom in Mr. Lancer's class," Sam said.

"Yeah," Danny agreed. "At least now we can sit outside!"

The other three friends nodded in agreement as they ran to the cafeteria line to grab some, for lack of a better word, food. With their lunch now obtained, the foursome enjoyed each other's company under their favorite tree (at least the one that was still within school grounds). They spent their time laughing and talking while they ate, simply enjoying the splendor of the day. The group was so busy talking among themselves, that they hadn't noticed the student council president pull out a megaphone and climb onto the center table of the courtyard.

"Hey Casper High Juniors!" The peppy brunette shouted loudly enough to startle Danny, "It's the last week of May and you know what that means. That's right, Junior Prom is on Friday! Tickets are on sale now from student council, so don't delay!"

"Student Council is really going all out with the advertising this year, aren't they?" Katie queried conversationally.

"Yeah, well they have to raise enough money to pay for all the stupid, unnecessary 'improvements' they made all over the year," Sam bitterly remarked.

"Oh, you mean the much needed new personalized designer cheerleading uniforms, the all-important Senior trip to Florida, and the other wonderful additions to make the popular kids happy?" Katie said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"So, you guys going?" Tucker asked.

"Well, I don't know. How about it Sam, we give it one more shot? I know things didn't really go well last time, especially the whole dragon thing, but I thought maybe we could try again?" Danny looked up at her, his big ice blue eyes pleading with her with a puppy-dog pout.

"Fine," Sam sighed, finally relenting to her boyfriend's wishes.

"How 'bout you, Katie, anyone ask?"

"No, Tuck, not yet," Katie answered nonchalantly.

"Oh. Well, do you want to go with me then, that way we can keep an eye on these two?" He asked, almost embarrassed.

"Valerie turn you down?" Katie asked sympathetically.

"Yeah, somebody asked her yesterday."

"Okay, sure. It sounds like it will be fun."

* * *

The rest of the week was uneventful. There were no major ghost attacks, no major high school melodramas, no crises of any kind. The only major event was the excitement over the dance on Friday. While Danny found nothing unusual about the surprisingly normal state of life right now, Katie was unnerved. The more complacent everything became, the more wary Katie became that Murphy's Law was going to rear its ugly head. Still, Katie kept her fears to herself, writing it off as paranoia.

Meanwhile, Danny was having problems of his own. Despite the lack of activity in Amity Park, Danny had been very busy. Every day this week Danny ran off right after school without a word of explanation to his friends, making Katie and Sam nervous. Tucker, however, seemed to know exactly what was going on, and slyly told them that Danny was preparing a "surprise".

Finally, Friday came, and the Junior class was just brimming with excitement and anticipation for the night's events. Danny, however, was nervous all day, and nobody knew why. When the last bell rang, Danny bolted out of the classroom, but not after having made a quick promise to Sam to pick her up at 6:30. Tucker ran after him, shouting cryptic wishes of good luck at his back.

An hour later, Katie was sitting in her bedroom, getting ready to take a shower when she suddenly heard Danny shout to her from below.

"Katie, I want to show you something! Come on!"

Quickly, Katie threw on a pair of jeans and an old T-shirt. She sighed as she walked down the stairs, wondering what was so important that he needed to talk to her this minute. She was already annoyed, but she decided to humor her cousin and pretend to be happy about whatever has him so excited. At least, that was the plan until she saw exactly what he wanted to show her.

Next to the curb in front of her house was parked a sleek, black motorcycle, which her cousin was happily leaning on. Katie's mouth fell open and her eyes bugged out. She didn't know exactly what she had been expecting, but this certainly wasn't it.

"Do you like it? I've spent all week practicing, and I just got my license today. Do you think Sam will like it?"

Katie stood there, speechless. Danny's evasiveness all week finally made sense. Still, she wasn't exactly relieved by this revelation. Finally, Katie pressed her lips together and answered.

"I'm sure Sam will love it," Katie said coldly, "but what on Earth possessed you to waste money on that… _death trap_ is beyond me."

"Death trap? Are you saying that I am going to die in motorcycle accident?" Danny asked playfully.

"No, thankfully death by motorcycle is not in your or Sam's future, believe me, I would know if it was. I only wonder who taught you to ride. I mean, you need someone with a license and bike of their own to teach you." Katie's words slowed near the end as the gears began to turn in her head. She took a good look at the bike again, and she suddenly realized why it seemed oddly familiar. She turned around and suddenly noticed her father's face in the window. "DAD! I know you taught him and that you gave him the bike!" she shouted as she ran back into the house.

Danny laughed at his cousin, knowing what reaction Katie was giving her father. She always hated the idea of him riding a motorcycle, although he could never quite figure out why. Danny continued to laugh to himself as he walked inside his own home in order to get ready for tonight.

* * *

Danny walked to the front door of his girlfriend's house and rang the bell. He stood there quietly, nervously shifting his feet as he waited for someone to answer the door. Finally, Mrs. Manson opened the door. Thankful that it wasn't her husband whose face he saw, Danny walked inside. The fifteen minutes Danny spent inside the Manson family living room was torturous. After Danny and Sam greeted each other, Sam's mom insisted that they take fifty pictures while Mr. Manson glared at Danny from his wife's side, silently reminding the boy who was the boss. Thankfully Sam's grandmother came and interrupted her daughter-in-law's photo session and sent Danny and Sam on their way.

"Your chariot awaits." Danny smiled slyly as he pointed to the Harley in front of her house.

"You are seriously going to take me there in that?" Sam asked, happily surprised.

"Yup, I just got my license today. Sorry I didn't tell you, but I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Sweet! Well, come on, we're going to be late!" Sam ran to the bike and picked up the extra helmet on the seat. Soon, Sam was hugging Danny close as they rode off into the night.

The dance turned out to be a lot of fun. There was food and good music and everyone was having a blast.

Danny, Sam, Katie and Tucker were sitting at a table by themselves talking and eating. You would think that a group of people who were together as much as they were would run out of things to talk about, but they never did. At this current moment, Danny and Sam were getting a good laugh at Katie who was staring longingly at Tucker's small pike of cold cuts.

"Katie, I don't get it. Just get a plate of your own if you want some so badly," Danny laughed.

"You have no idea how badly I wish I could. You know I can't eat meat! But I miss it so much!"

"Katie, you sound like Tucker if he ever had to go vegetarian," Sam joked. "What's holding you back anyway?"

"Do you really want to know?" Katie asked seriously. The trio nodded curiously.

"Tucker, can I have a small piece of roast beef, please?" At the glare Tucker gave her she added "Come on, spare a little piece for your date, or else I'll march right back to your house and let your mother show off all those embarrassing baby pictures she so badly wanted to show me before we left."

At that Tucker reluctantly handed over a slice of meat from his pile. Katie made a face as she bit into it, and then stuck out her tongue. What was on there was not chewed up roast beef, but ash.

"And flesh shall turn to ash on its tongue" Katie quoted. "It was part of some stupid PR campaign during the Black Plague. My predecessor thought that by making Death vegetarian, people would be less frightened. She of course forgot the fact that people wouldn't know the difference either way."

"Wow, that sucks," Tucker said sympathetically.

"Thanks."

"Hey, Katie, I have to tell you something that you are probably not going to want to hear."

Katie turned to see who the new addition to their company was, and saw one of her partners, Jessica, standing there, worry creasing her forehead.

"Jess? What's wrong?" Katie asked concerned.

"Well, let's just say you're going to have a busy summer." Katie looked at her, confused, so she cryptically explained. "He moved the yearbook to the highest shelf."

At first Katie was still confused, but then, as if she had a sudden epiphany, she understood.

"Thanks for the warning, Jess," she said quietly as she turned around. The message having been delivered, the brunette walked away without another word.

"What was that about?" Danny asked, referring to the cryptic warning they had just received.

"Let's just say you and I have an unexpected, morbid event coming up soon." The table was quiet for a minute as they digested her words. All Katie think was _I was right, it _was_ too quiet. Thank you Murphy's Law for adding yet another unexpected plot twist to my already complicated life._

* * *

**Okay, first off, I am so sorry this was late! Writer's block hit hard and fast, and I was too weak and too tired from finals to face it. Yes, I know this chapter was pretty much filler, but it was transition filler, the calm before the storm so to speak.**

**Now, onto the important information that I promised. Well, I am sort of going on vacation to Egypt for ten days, and I am leaving Thursday, so you probably won't get an update for a while. Please don't kill me, I'm sorry! I will try to write as much as I can if the next chapter before then, that way I can hopefully post the day I get back, but I make no promises. Anyway, I am sorry about the lateness of this chapter and about the long wait for the next one. Oh, and as of now I think this is going to be a 25 or 26 chapter story.**


	16. Downpour

**Hey guys, I'm back! Sorry this update took so long, I've just been really busy since I came back from vacation. Without further interruption, here's chapter 16.**

**Warning: This chapter contains a character death, is very morbid, and a wee bit depressing. Sorry, it just had to be that way.**

Chapter 16: Downpour

Danny sat at the kitchen table, looking forlornly out the window. It was a pleasant, but unseasonably cool, sunny July day. The sounds and smells of summer happily wafted through the open windows. Yet, for some reason the pleasant atmosphere around Danny seemed ominous, as if it was just begging for Murphy's Law to take hold. It was making him a bit antsy as he anticipated whatever was awaiting him.

_Then again,_ Danny thought to himself, _maybe I'm just overreacting because I'm bored._ _All my friends are away or busy. Sam's taking that cruise around the Mediterranean with her family, Tucker went to visit his cousin in Seattle, and Valerie is working. Even Katie is busy, working at the museum. Why didn't I get a job? Oh, right, the whole ghost thing._

The sudden sound of the door opening brought Danny out of his reverie. He looked up to see Katie slowly walk over to the table and sit down next to him. Her expression was solemn and sad, something which was highly unusual for her.

"Katie, what's up? You look… depressed."

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered quietly, "it's just that today is going to be dismal day."

Danny was about to ask why when the doorbell rang. He got up to answer it, but Katie held him back.

"Let your mom get it," she ordered. Danny looked at her quizzically, but she brushed it off.

The pair sat quietly in the kitchen, lost in their thoughts, when the sound of a woman crying broke the silence.

"Mom!" Danny whispered as he jumped out of his chair and ran for the living room.

"Mom? Dad? Is everything alright?"

"Danny, Vlad, uh, he, uh" Now that Jack's face was turned toward him, Danny could see that he, too, had tears in his eyes.

"What? What did he do, Dad?" Danny said angrily, "If he said anything to you guys I'll…"

"Save it, Danny." Katie said in a quiet tone. Apparently, she had slipped in after him.

"Why should I?"

"Because," she answered morosely, "you can't kill someone who is already dead."

* * *

Three days later, Danny sat at the funeral, bored out of his mind. He had always hated the man, yet for some reason he found that he was actually upset at his rival's passing. It seemed kind of weird to know that he wouldn't be there to fight him anymore. Danny stroked Sam's hair, whose head was leaning comfortably against his shoulder. As soon as Danny had told Sam and Tucker what had happened, they both came home immediately to help him out. He felt lucky to have such good friends.

Danny still couldn't believe Vlad was actually gone. He kept expecting Vlad's ghost half to show up, but when he never did it finally hit him. It was hard for him to accept, especially considering what had finally brought the man down. Vlad's college years killed him, quite literally. His college yearbook fell from the highest shelf in his library and hit him on his head. He died from blunt force trauma. And they say that reading won't kill you.

As Danny was absorbed in his ponderings, Katie stealthily rose from her seat and crept to the hill just a little farther off from where everyone was seated. When she reached the top she saw a figure there, solemnly watching over the events taking place before him.

"Attending your own funeral? That's a bit morbid, even for me," Katie addressed he man with a smile.

"Yeah, well it's not like I have anything better to do yet. "Vlad said bitterly. Vlad looked much like he did in life, except now he had a slight blue tint to his skin, as well as the fact that he was now translucent.

"Though, you have to admit, it is kind of funny. I mean, death by college yearbook? That's a new one. Yet, it's oddly symbolic in a way." Katie stated. Vlad grunted in response.

"So when do I start?" Vlad asked, resigned.

"Ah, I guess Clockwork told you what your punishment for nearly destroying the world is?"

"Yes, he did. He told me that I am to serve that which I begged for. I guess that means you." He replied bitterly.

"Yup, you're pretty much my assistant, for lack of a better word, until I decide that you have truly repented. So, are you excited to be Death's whipping-boy?" Katie said lightheartedly. Vlad scowled at her.

"Sorry, I was trying to joke with you a little before we move on to the serious stuff. There are a lot of people here, aren't there?" She asked, serious this time.

"Yes, there are. They're mostly old business partners hoping that I left them something in a moment of insanity. The joke's on them, as the old adage goes, because I didn't leave them a dime." Vlad laughed without humor.

"Where'd it all go, then? You're not the type of person to leave it to charity," Katie asked curiously. In response, Vlad looked down at the crowd, focusing on one individual in particular.

"Oh, I should have known. He really was like a son to you, wasn't he? There was more to your fascination than just his powers, wasn't there?"

"Yes. I mean, he even looks more like me than Jack! I used to like to believe that in another lifetime, he would really be my son, not my rival. In fact, part of me still wants to believe that. But I know better than that now. I had a lot of time to think while I was in solitude. Maddie would have never truly been mine, would she?" Vlad asked longingly.

"I can't say, that's not really my department, but I doubt it. I'm sorry." They both went back to silently watching the gathering for a few minutes.

"When does he find out?" Katie asked, breaking the silence.

"I specifically stated that he shouldn't be told until after his eighteenth birthday. Now, what I want to know is will he make it to then?" Vlad stared intently at her, waiting for an answer.

"Danny's fate has always been uncertain, to say the least. As of right now, there are three big possibilities. The first is that he lives to a ripe old age and passes peacefully in his sleep, but with each passing day this future becomes less probable. The second is the least probable, but the most interesting. I never actually see him die he just, sort of disappears, like I will. The third possibility I see is him sacrificing himself to save the people he cares the most about. I can't tell when this happens, but he's young, less than twenty." Katie's eyes, were unfocused as she spoke of these fates, as if she was trying to remember a distant memory.

"And the last one, how likely is it?" Vlad asked anxiously.

"Very." Katie set her eyes downcast, apparently in defeat.

"You don't want it to happen, do you?"

"No, I don't," Katie sighed.

"Can't you stop it then? You're Death, can't you prevent it?" Vlad asked in slight confusion.

"Yes and no. I technically have the ability to stop, or even cause, a person's death, but that doesn't mean that I would without good reason. Every death happens for a reason, and to put even one life off track can destroy everything." Katie said gravely.

"That's a lot of responsibility for one person." Vlad commented.

"Yeah, it is. It kind of sucks."

"Is that why you didn't come kill me after I told Daniel your secret, because it would put my life off track?"

"Yes. It wasn't your time, so I couldn't do anything, despite how badly you wanted it. I know that you were waiting, too. I'm sorry about everything that has happened to you, I really am," Katie said to comfort him.

"Thanks, I'm sure you're the only one that does." Vlad said sadly.

"Don't be so sure. People's perception of a person changes once they die. Perhaps it has something to do with the shock of realizing that they're no longer there." Katie said thoughtfully. She looked down at the crowd and saw that the funeral was nearly over.

"Well, I guess I have to go before everyone realizes I was gone."

"That would be best. But, Katherine, I do have one question for you. What is so wrong about motorcycles?" Vlad asked curiously.

"Oh, that. I had a bad experience as a kid. When I was eleven I fell off my dad's bike and broke my leg. I haven't been on one since." Katie shuddered as she thought of even touching a motorcycle.

"Ah. I guess I will see you…"

"Monday. You get a mourning period." Katie said, answering his implied question.

"Right. I will see you then. And thank you for keeping me company." And with that Vlad took for the skies.

Katie went back to the block of chairs that had been set up and silently slipped back into her seat. A couple of minutes later, everything was over and she was free to leave.

"So, where did you wander off to?" Danny asked as she got up to leave.

"What are you talking about? I didn't go anywhere," Katie stated calmly.

"Oh come on, Katie, I saw you walk off, now where did you go?" Danny asked again playfully.

"Nowhere, I just needed to get some fresh air."

"Right. Sure you did." Danny said sarcastically.

"You know, for someone who just sat through their archrival's funeral you're oddly annoying." Katie answered wryly.

"Hey, that's just the way I am," Danny joked.

"Well, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, kid," Katie said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey are you going to let her treat your boyfriend like that?" Danny asked the girl holding his arm.

"Yes, because she is right. Especially when my boyfriend is being annoying at a funeral," Sam reprimanded him.

"Ooh, you just got goth girl curb stomped!" Tucker's comment was met with three upbraiding glares.

"What? I'm just saying the truth."

The other three teenagers rolled their eyes, and together quartet began their journey home.

**So, that's Chapter 16. It's a bit shorter than usual, but that's okay. Oh, and Tucker's comment is a reference to Lacey52's story "Links in the Chain", which is probably the best story on this site. Seriously, it's amazing, go check out. And while I'm at it, Lacey, if by some miracle you're reading this, can you please start posting AOW? I'm craving it! Sorry, random tangent. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this!**


	17. New Year Messages

**Alright, I'm procrastinating on my summer homework and SAT prep, so here's another chapter for you guys. Thank you to everyone who reviewed or favorited the story. Please read and review! Enjoy!**

Chapter 17: New Year Messages

It was New Years Eve, and at 10:00 the night was still young. Danny was happily sitting with his girlfriend and best friend on the couch watching old movies as they waited for his parents to come and takeover the television in order to see the big shiny ball drop.

"Hey, Danny, wasn't Katie supposed to be here?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah, she said she'd come later after she finished making some last minute changes to one of her college applications or something, why?"

"Oh, no reason, I just remember that she was excited to finally be able to see the ball drop without Alex and Jake purposely screaming the countdown in her ears." Both Danny and Sam gave Tucker a look of disbelief, but Tucker ignored it. If Tucker knew anything, it was that by responding to that look in any capacity means that neither of them will ever let the subject go.

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream was heard from outside. Danny was about to check it out, but then he heard his cousin shrieking "JAKE! I'm going to KILL you!" and knew that nothing was wrong. Well, at least nothing that he had to go stop.

"Gee, I wonder what happened?" Sam pondered out loud. Her question was soon answered as Katie burst through the front door, a look of desperation on her face.

"Tucker!" she cried as her eyes lit up with relief, "I need your help. Jake was messing with my computer and it crashed, and Brandeis lost one of my essays, and they need me to fax it to them by tonight, and I can't get my computer to work because it crashed, and I really, really need your help, please." Katie did everything but get down on her knees and beg for the boy's assistance.

"Okay, calm down," Tucker said gently, "Take me to your computer, and I'll fix it. It probably just needs to be rebooted." Katie's face lit up with overwhelming gratitude and she walked with him out the door, an endless chorus of "thank you" flowing from her as they left.

"Well," Danny said after his distressed cousin and her knight in shining armor left, "at least now we have the couch to ourselves," Danny moved closer to Sam, her expression slightly surprised at his boldness. "Which means that I can finally stretch out," he finished, putting one arm around Sam as he pulled both legs onto the couch. "Seriously, I don't understand how Tuck manages to take up half the couch, but he does." Sam laughed lightly at Danny's playful smile.

The couple was enjoying their few minutes alone when an annoyed sigh escaped Danny as he heard the door knock. Unfortunately his parents were downstairs in the lab working on a new invention and his sister was upstairs writing her thesis, so it was up to him to go answer the door.

"Jess?" Danny said in surprise upon seeing the face of his cousin's brunette friend and partner, "Uh, Katie's not here right now. In fact she kind of is next door, you know, at her house, you can probably find her there."

"Danny, I'm not looking for Katie," Jess replied bluntly. "I'm actually glad that she's not here. I really need to speak to you, well, both of you," she said for Sam's sake, who had just appeared behind Danny, "and it'll be a lot easier to say what I need to say without her interference."

"Uh, okay, come in?" Danny looked at Sam, hoping for some explanation, but she was just as lost as he was.

"I'm really sorry to intrude like this," Jess said politely. She was much calmer now than she was at the door. "It's just that I have to tell you this now, before I forget or Katie finds out and tries to convince me not to meddle." Danny and Sam listened intently, curious as to what has the girl so worked up.

"Danny, do you know what is in the thermos in Clockwork's castle?" Danny simply nodded in response.

"Good, because I have no idea what that thing contains, so whatever is going on is going to make a lot more sense to you then it does to me."

* * *

"And, there you go. Everything is fixed and your essay is being faxed over there now." Tucker, wearing a smug smile from completing the difficult task so quickly, turned around in the swivel computer chair to face the girl whose computer he just saved.

"Really? Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Katie exclaimed enthusiastically as jumped off her bed and hugged Tucker.

"You're welcome. It wasn't hard to fix, trust me. So, let's head back to Danny's now. Maybe I can catch him and Sam in a private moment, huh?" Tucker chuckled lightly at the idea of catching Danny and Sam in a compromising position.

"Sure, but can I talk to you about something first? Please?" Katie nervously bit her lip as she waited for an answer.

"Sure, what's wrong?" Tucker's joking manner was now gone and replaced with concern at the sight of Katie's worried face.

"That's just it. I don't know."

* * *

"Jess, what are you talking about?" Sam asked this time, now truly concerned.

"Something is going to happen soon, something bad, and whatever is going to happen is because of whatever is in there."

"What do you mean, 'Whatever is going to happen?' You mean you don't know?" Danny asked a bit forcefully out of nervousness.

"No, I don't. I only know things based off of decisions people make, and so far whatever this is hasn't planned enough for me to see what's going on. It seems to be waiting to get out before it makes any decisions, so until then I don't know anything. I'm seeing more today, and I can see flashes of what will happen, but not enough to see what it's plans are, or what it is. But I do know what it is after."

* * *

"Tuck, I'm worried about Danny."

"Okay… that's not new." Tucker was a bit confused. It's not Katie to worry over everyday things. Well, everyday for them at least. "We all are, all the time. But I thought you would be used to this by now? I mean, he's even getting better at the fighting, school, everything, so…"

"No, I'm not worried about him in that way!" Katie cut him off. "I just feel like something is going to happen something, bad." Then Tucker thought he got it.

"Oh, you think he's going to…? Katie, you know Danny better than that! I may joke around, but he's too virtuous to…"

"Ew!" Katie cried, cutting him off again. "I'm not talking about that! Honestly, my cousin's love-life isn't a top priority. In fact, the less I know, the better, but that's not the point. I'm talking about his mortality."

* * *

"Okay, so if he gets out, what is going after? I have a pretty good idea, but I don't want to risk it." Danny hoped and prayed that _he_ wouldn't dare go after his family again, not like the last time.

"It wants you," Jess said point-blank.

"What do you mean by 'me'? What about me?" Danny asked anxiously.

"It wants revenge, and it's directed straight at you." Sam watched as Danny gulped fearfully at Jess's warning, her own eyes wide in horror.

"I'm really, really sorry that I had to tell you this now," Jess said apologetically, honestly sorry for the bad timing, "but if you were to ask me even tomorrow I wouldn't be able to tell you as much. I am able to see a bit more of what is related to my position today than on other day in the year. It has something to do with more people focusing on their destinies than any other day in the year."

"Thanks Jess, really," Danny said quietly. Jess quietly slipped out the door as Danny and Sam looked at each other, worry in their eyes.

* * *

"Oh," Tucker said, embarrassed, "I really should have seen that coming. But what do you mean, his mortality?"

"Look, don't tell anybody, alright, but I feel like something's going to happen, soon, and I don't know what, when or how, but I think Danny's going to get in over his head this time."

"Katie, how long have you felt like this?" Tucker was now fully serious as the gravity of the situation began to weigh down on him.

"I began to notice it back in July, at the funeral. The possibility has been growing ever since," Katie said in a quiet voice.

"Katie, everything's going to be fine." Tucker pulled Katie into a hug, comforting her. "We'll just tell Danny, and then he'll…"

"No!" Katie protested. "Please don't tell him, at least not yet. When I am able to get more information, then maybe we can tell him. But Tuck, if it's supposed to happen, it's going to happen. Please, remember that, okay?" Katie's voice was pleading, stressing the point of how important it was that he take her word.

"Okay," Tucker consented. "Now let's head back to Danny's, it's already 11:30!"

* * *

Sam and Danny returned to watching TV, though neither was paying attention to it. Both were trying to act normal for the sake of the other, but meanwhile they were both thinking about the same thing. Nether knew what to do, and thought they we're trying to play it cool, Jess's warning had shook them to their core.

"Hey, I'm back! Let the party commence!" Tucker exclaimed as he burst through the front door.

"You know, normally I'd that say you're delusional, but this is just sad," Katie said after taking a quick look around the room.

"You know, just because we don't feel the need to constantly hear the sound of our own voices doesn't mean we're boring." Sam's tone was joking but her voice was quiet and she sounded a bit off.

"Yeah," Danny oh so wittingly added. His tone, too, seemed off when he answered in a quiet voice.

"Alright Sam, there's no need to get defensive. What's up with you guys anyway?" Katie asked curiously.

"Nothing," they defensively answered in unison. Katie wasn't convinced, and neither was Tucker. Katie was about to ask what was up, but Tucker interrupted her. He knew his best friends well enough to know that they will tell him what their problem is when they are ready.

"Hey, Danny, where's your dad? It's 11:45, shouldn't he be barging in here to take control of the TV?"

As if on cue, Danny's Dad boisterously entered the room, stole the remote from his son, plopped down on the couch, and turned on the local news, which was showing the ball drop. His wife happily followed him into the room, a plate of fresh-baked cookies in her hand. Jazz, having heard the commotion, took a break from her writing to join the family fun. This is how, in a period of less than five minutes, four Fentons and a Manson found themselves squished together on the Fenton's couch, with Katie and Tucker standing behind them laughing their heads off.

Everyone watched eagerly as the countdown toward the new year began, the anticipation of the start of another year growing with each passing second. Finally the clock reached zero and everybody jubilantly shouted "Happy New Year!" Jazz jumped up in celebration while, in classic New Year's tradition, Jack and Maddie gave each other a quick but loving kiss while Danny and Sam went for a longer, more passionate embrace.

None of these events was a surprise, but what happened to the other two people not on the couch was. Nobody was more shocked than Katie when Tucker leaned toward her and kissed her on the lips. Though the kiss was short, I was all it took for the two of them to realize a few things. First, Tucker still felt something for Katie. Second, something between the two of them changed because this time around the embrace was far from awkward. But third, and most importantly, neither of them really minded too much.

After the events of tonight, our four favorite teenagers were sure of one thing. This is definitely going to be one hell of a year. Whether this was good or bad they were yet to be certain, but it was going to be an interesting ride either way.

**

* * *

**

And that, my friends is the end of another chapter! Yes, it's finally done! And that lovely bit of TxK fluff at the end was just for you TPcrazy, because I know you wanted it (plus, it was really fun to write)! So, tell me what you guys think, and please leave a review. I really want to know guys like or don't like so that I can improve. Thanks for your time, and especially for all the kind words of encouragement I have gotten (especially from onixblack, you have no idea how much your review for the last chapter helped raise my spirits) and for all the people who have added this story to their favorites. Wow, this is a really long author's note, I'm sorry for my rambling! Please review, thanks!


	18. In Too Deep

**Alrighty then. Here is Chapter 18 for your enjoyment. Thanks a lot for the reviews I have gotten and keep them coming. **

**Now for the lame excuse for why this is so late: school, including, but not limited to, college applications, homework, SATs and, of course, other optional stuff my school forces me to do (yes, I do realize that is an oxymoron). Oh, the joy of being a senior. But anyway, sorry for the long wait between this chapter and the last.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I'm the wrong gender, age, and height to be Butch Hartman; ergo I unfortunately do not own Danny Phantom.**

Chapter 18: In Too Deep

It was January 1, and Danny, Sam and Tucker were currently spending the first day of the new year sitting around Danny's kitchen table in silence. Danny and Sam had just related last night's events to Tucker, and now they were waiting for some sort of response from him.

For his part, Tucker was taking it well. He wasn't as surprised as he thought he would be, nor was he too worried. He was actually kind of stoic about it. He sat quietly as he tried to think of a response to give them. He thought about what Katie had confided in him, and together with what happened to Danny and Sam, he figured that there was a loose connection between the two. Finally, Tucker broke the silence.

"You should tell Katie. She might have more insight into this," Tucker said in a serious tone he so very rarely used outside of City Hall.

"He's right," Sam agreed, "she might know something we don't. Why don't you go talk to her?"

Danny sighed in defeat because he knew they were right. "Okay, I'll go talk to her now. Do you think she's up?"

"Danny, it's 1:00 in the afternoon. If she's not up by now then she should be," Sam said jokingly. Danny laughed a little at the Goth who thought that waking up past ten was a crime (even though she herself is not a morning person).

"I guess you're right. Well, wish me luck." And with that, Danny stepped out the door.

"So, what's going on with you and Katie?" Sam asked once Danny was safely out ear shot.

"What are you talking about?" Tucker hoped by playing dumb she would let the subject drop. He wasn't so lucky.

"Oh please, I may have been kissing Danny but I'm not blind. I saw what happened at midnight."

"Oh, that. It's nothing." Tucker blushed a little out of embarrassment. "No, really it isn't!" Tucker exclaimed in defense at Sam's unbelieving glare.

"Sure, fine, whatever. I'll let it go for now. But don't think you're getting off that easy. Danny and I endured teasing from you two since we first met in kindergarten, and it's about time for a taste of your own medicine." Sam smiled evilly, watching Tucker nervously gulp at her threat.

* * *

Danny stood nervously in front of cousin's bedroom door. He took a deep breath before finally knocking.

"Come in," Katie's voice beckoned.

Danny opened the door and calmly walked in. Katie's bedroom was a lot like the one he saw in her memory, except with fewer posters of boy-bands and more about ancient societies. He couldn't help but notice the one poster that looked out of place among all stone ruins. It was a poster of him as Danny Phantom flying above the city, and under him Katie had written in marker "Yep, I know him and no, you can't have a picture of him shirtless (for less than 50 bucks)." Danny chuckled at Katie's bit of humor.

"You like it?" Katie asked happily, watching Danny look at the poster. "That comment just seemed like a good idea to put there, it's so boring otherwise!"

"Hey, are you calling me boring?" Danny laughingly asked.

"Maybe," Katie answered playfully. "So, what's up?"

Katie's question reminded Danny of why he was here. He stopped laughing, the light-hearted demeanor the poster had induced was now replaced with a more serious one.

"Um, well, did I mention Jess stopped by last night while Tuck was trying to fix your computer?" Danny asked cautiously. Katie shook her head apprehensively, wondering what was going on.

"Well," Danny continued, "she did. She came to warn me about something, and I think you might understand what she meant better than we did."

Although her heart was racing from the adrenaline rush caused by a sort of fearful curiosity, she somehow managed to calmly answer her cousin. "Okay, so what did she say?"

"Did Clockwork ever tell you what was in the thermos on his shelf?" Katie shook her head in the negative in reply. "Alright, before I tell you what Jess warned me about, I have to tell you about that thermos. Back in Freshman year, we had to take the CAT and, well, I sorta forgot to study…"

Danny sat there for two hours, telling the amazing tale of his almost-future which was only stopped by his own self-determination and Clockwork's mercy. When all was said and done, Katie had gained a new found respect for her cousin. Katie sat for a moment in silence, trying to take in everything she had heard. Soon, she broke the silence.

"Danny, why are telling me this?"

"Jess came over to warn me about her premonitions of _him_ getting out, and I just need to know, if it's true and he really does come out, will something, you know, happen?"

"I'm sorry Danny, I don't know. I won't know until the first domino to falls, metaphorically speaking, and it seems as if that domino is him getting out. Until that happens, I won't know anything, because the path hasn't started yet, you get it?" Danny nodded silently in response. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I get it. Thanks anyway." Danny put a small smile on to put Katie at ease.

"No problem. If I find out anything, I'll let you know," Katie said returning Danny's smile. They said their farewells and Katie solemnly watched as Danny walked out the door, throwing a promise to see her later over his shoulder.

Katie sat in silence, mulling over everything she had just heard. She feared for her cousin, to be sure, but she surprised by how stoic she felt about the whole thing. She looked at it from a professional standpoint, realizing that when the time would come, she would know, but until then there was nothing she could do. Oddly enough, that thought was comforting. Katie was soon brought out of her reverie by a deep voice from behind her.

"That thing that you told me about in July, the end that his fate was most likely to take, do you think that's it?" Vlad asked curiously, but with a calm, serious demeanor.

"How long were you standing there?" Katie was still calm and stoic, despite the fact that his sudden appearance almost gave her a heart attack.

"Long enough to hear all that Daniel had to say. So, tell, me, do you think that this is it?"

"I don't know, probably," Katie answered thoughtfully.

"And there's nothing you can do if it is." It was a statement, not a question. Vlad had spent enough time with the girl to understand that the stoic look on her face was one of resignation and acceptance to the fact that this was one event that could tip the fragile balance of time if she dared to change it.

"No, there isn't," Katie answered softly, but loud enough for Vlad to hear.

"You're taking it well," Vlad noted.

"Well, what am I supposed to do, crumple into a ball and cry? Put my life on pause to find a solution to something I can't change? Over the years I have learned that it is pointless to attempt to mourn the unavoidable before it happens, for all it causes you to do is brood over your helplessness when it finally occurs. We are subject to our fate, whether we like it or not."

"That's a very cynical view on life for someone as young as you are, Katherine." Vlad stated, surprised.

"Certain events over the past couple of years have forced me to become more mature than someone my age would normally be," Katie responded in a bored tone.

"Still, isn't that a bit of a dark view on life?" Vlad asked, honestly perturbed by such a pessimistic statement coming from such a normally cheery person.

"Not necessarily," Katie said, smiling a little, "some unavoidable events are good. Sometimes, even the moments that make you think your life is crashing all around you end up being one the best moments of your life. When you are forced to pick up the pieces, you see the world from a whole new perspective that makes you reevaluate all your priorities and accomplishments for the better. Wouldn't you agree?"

Vlad chewed on Katie's statement for a minute, thinking about how much his life had changed after the asteroid incident. He thought about how he spent months in his home, closely analyzing his life and realizing how unimportant all those things he kept at the top of his priority list were, and how unproductive his brooding over the past was.

He smiled slightly and thoughtfully answered. "Yes, I guess I would have to agree."

"Good. Now enough philosophy, we have bigger things to worry about. Vlad, I want you to go to Clockwork's tower and keep an eye on him for me. As soon as anything happens, come tell me. Got it?"

Vlad nodded in response to Katie's order, and immediately flew off to fulfill her command.

* * *

The next few weeks went by pretty normally. At least, it was normal by Amity Park standards. There were a couple of ghost attacks, time to hang out after school, piles of homework, and, of course, a few instances of falling asleep in class. Everything was pretty normal, except for the fact that Katie and Tucker were a bit shyer around each other.

Danny was still wary of Destiny's warning, but he decided not to let it control his life like he would have in the past. He was still preparing both mentally and physically for the day the subject of his worst nightmares would escape, but it was not the sole focus of his being at the moment. When the time comes, he would be ready, but until then he would just enjoy life while it was good.

For about a month and half, things went on like this. It was a joyful time, but underneath it there was a sense of increasing anxiety. They say that waiting was the worst part, and now the gang fully understood the meaning of that saying. Then, everything changed.

It was a Friday, and they all headed over to Danny's house to celebrate the end to another monotonous school week by having a movie marathon. Before they could enjoy indulging in popcorn, however, they had to drop off a ghost they had caught earlier that day back in the ghost Zone. They had just completed their task when they heard the portal's alarm system go off, signaling that a ghost was about to get out. Danny sighed and transformed into his alter ego in order to this thing back as soon as it got out. However, he was stopped in his tracks (figuratively speaking, of course) when he saw a man he thought was dead step out of the portal.

"Vlad?" He asked in shock. The man was clearly ghost, but his appearance certainly shocking to him and everyone else, save for Katie. Vlad ignored the confused stares and looked directly at Katie.

"Vlad, what's wrong?" Katie asked upon seeing the man's distressed face.

"It's happened," Vlad said in a horrified voice, his eyes wide. "He's out."

* * *

**It's done, finally! Sorry this took so long guys, I've just been really busy lately. I hate schoolwork! Anyway, please leave a review! I'll try to finish the next chapter as soon as I can. I hope you enjoyed Chapter 18 and I'll have the next one done soon! Now it's time for me to actually do the SAT work I've been avoiding, arg. Thanks for reading!**


	19. Love

**Hey, guess what? It's another chapter! Please review, they really help me, thanks! Anyway, enjoy chapter 19 (only 5 more left!)! **

**Wow, I kept you guys waiting over a month and this is shorter chaper than usual. I'm really sorry about the wait! Anyway, there are more apologies and pathetic excuses at the end. In the meantime, enjoy the chapter. Oh, and Happy Halloween everyone (even if I am a day late)!**

**Oh, and Tuesday will be the one-year anniversary of this story. Yay!**

Chapter 19: Love

Once Vlad had delivered the news of Dan's escape, Danny didn't waste any time getting into action. Ignoring Katie's protests, he immediately went into the Ghost Zone in search of Clockwork. He found the ancient ghost in his nearly destroyed tower trying to clean it up, perfectly fine and as cryptic as always. The time ghost soon sent Danny on his way, saying that the boy had more urgent matters at hand.

After Danny had finally returned (and was reprimanded by Katie for foolishly rushing into the line of fire, even though he told her nothing happened), they immediately started forming a plan of action. With the help of the Fates, Danny soon had what, after many revisions and much scrutiny, seemed like a workable plan. According to Destiny, once Dan had regained his strength, he would come after Danny directly. This would be his downfall because Dan would underestimate Danny's strength, which has greatly increased since their last encounter, and overestimate his own strength, which has greatly decreased from being idle for so long. This would give Danny the element of surprise, allowing for him to weaken Dan enough to allow the Fates to do their job and destroy him.

Now that a plan was finally decided on, all that was left was to wait for the right moment. It is said that the wait before the battle is the worst part, and that statement had never been more true to Danny as he listened to the bizarre argument between Death and Destiny on the best way to kill a ghost. Although it was oddly entertaining at first, the constant bickering soon wore at him. He was just about ready to tear out both their throats when Molly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, Danny," Molly asked him tentatively, "can I talk to you alone for a minute, please? Don't worry, they'll come get us when it's time." she said, indicating toward Katie and Jessica.

"Yes!" Danny answered without hesitation, desperate to leave the bickering pair in favor of Molly's more peaceful tone. He followed the petite girl to the roof, where peace and quiet met them.

"I figured it would be better out here where there's quiet," Molly echoed his thoughts.

"Yeah, thanks," Danny said, relieved. "Are they always like that?"

"You have no idea," Molly said with a laugh.

"What's up?" asked Danny, curious as to what Molly needed.

"I just wanted the chance to speak to you. We never really had a decent conversation with each other," Molly said honestly.

"Yeah, why not? I mean, I've seen you with my cousin a lot over the past couple of years, and you were always really quiet."

"Well, I was sort of intimidated by you at first."

"Intimidated, why?" Danny asked in surprise.

"Okay, don't laugh, and please don't tell anybody, especially Katie, but until a couple of years ago I sort of had a crush on you." Molly instantly blushed out of embarrassment as soon as she finished her confession.

"Really?" Danny was surprised by this, as he never even knew.

"Yeah, from about fifth to tenth grade." Molly's blush continued to grow, her face now beet red.

"Until tenth grade? What happened?" Danny asked out of pure curiosity.

"Well, I'm sure Katie told you that we all found out about our jobs a little earlier than we should have, right?" Danny nodded and Molly continued, "Well, after we found out, some our side effects started to appear, like Katie not being able to eat meat. For me, that meant that I could see the strength of relationships.

"Most of the relationships I saw in kids our age were pretty weak, destined to be short-lived. It was actually kind of tiring after awhile to see such fruitless efforts, not to mention depressing. But when you and Sam first walked into school, I was completely caught off guard by what I saw. Your relationship was like nothing I had ever seen before. Your relationship was as strong as some of the oldest and happiest couples I had seen, if not stronger. After seeing that, I became one of the biggest supporters for you guys."

"Thank you," Danny said slowly, his eyes wide in pleasant surprise.

"Don't thank me, it's the truth, and sort of my job." Molly paused for a minute before solemnly stating "You really love her, more than anything."

"Yeah, I do," he said pensively as he gazed out at the vast sky before him.

"And she feels the same." Danny realized it was a statement, not a question, as she would have no need to ask.

"I've always known that she has," he said in reply.

"You know, you are probably one of the luckiest people in the universe," Molly stated truthfully.

"Yeah, between constantly being hunted by the government and ghosts, having a cousin who could kill me just by lifting her finger, literally, and getting ready to enter a fight for my life against an evil, older version of myself it must seem like I have the world's largest collection of good luck charms," Danny said with bitter sarcasm.

"Don't be that way, I'm serious. Many people never find their soul mate, and of those do, even fewer find him or her in high school, and only a handful of them even realize it then, if at all. You have something very rare, and very special, so do me a favor and don't screw this up." Molly smiled lightheartedly, showing a sense of easiness and affection that proved the sincerity of her words.

"Don't worry, I won't, I promise," Danny said seriously.

"Good, because if something happened to you guys, Katie would kill me a thousand times over," Molly said half jokingly and half seriously.

"The sad part is not just that Katie could literally do that, but that she would, too," Danny commented. They were interrupted by a rough coughing sound from behind them.

"Not that I don't enjoy hearing about the different ways I can torture people," Katie said with a weak smile, "but there's a very anxious girlfriend waiting for you downstairs. Plus, Jess told me to warn you guys that it's almost time." Thus, they went downstairs to prepare for the coming battle.

When Danny got downstairs, he saw Sam and Tucker waiting for him, ready to wish him luck. They smiled and waved at him from the couch, and he leaped down the stairs to join them. They greeted one another enthusiastically, and proceeded to go to the lab, where Danny would enter the Ghost Zone via the Fenton Portal. They laughed and joked all the way down because, the truth was, they weren't sure if they would be able to do this again. The show of normalcy continued until it was finally time to face the inevitable.

"Good luck, man," Tucker said to his friend as the two of them quickly embraced.

"Thanks, I'm going to need it," Danny said lightheartedly.

Finally, Danny turned to Sam and, before he could even say anything, she threw her arms around him and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

"Wow, I should go fight my evil self every day," Danny laughed. Sam smiled weakly at him before dropping it to a worrisome frown.

"Just, promise that, no matter what happens, you'll come back, okay?" she requested quietly.

"Sam," Danny pulled up her face so that he could look into her eyes, "I promise that will come back. Nothing can stop me from that." He swiftly kissed her on the lips to prove his sincerity. "I love you, Sam."

"I love you, too," Sam whispered. "And wow, that was so cheesy," she added with a laugh.

"Yeah," Danny chuckled, "but that's why you love me."

Katie watched the three friends' goodbyes with doleful eyes. She didn't know exactly what was to come, and she was worried for them, as she now wasn't as sure of how this was end as she was a couple of hours ago. She turned to Jessica, or rather Destiny now that she was her "business attire", and found that she was wearing the same anxious face as Katie. They both knew that something had changed within the past couple of hours, a twist of fate that they weren't expecting, and though they couldn't, or more likely wouldn't, admit it, they were scared.

Finally, the wait was over and it was time for them to enter the battle, so to speak. Danny looked back at his friends one last time and sent a quick wave back to them. He then stepped into the portal and entered the void before him.

**

* * *

**

Okay, I know that there are only so many times I can say this, so I'm going to get it all out now: I'M SORRY! I'm sorry about the long wait, I'm sorry for such a short chapter, and I'm sorry about the crappiness about the chapter! I'm dealing with a lot of stuff right now with school and college applications and all things related to them. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and there are only 5 more left (4 regular chapters plus an epilogue). Thanks for reading and please review, thanks!

**Oh, and a special shout out to **_**Anonymous666**_**. I'm posting this here because I can't respond to your reviews because you sent them anonymously, but thank you so much for the kind words! I really appreciated your reviews! And thanks also to everyone else who has reviewed this story or added it to their alerts or favorites lists. Thanks everyone!**


	20. Destiny

**Hi everyone, I'm back! Before I begin, I would just like to explain why this update took so long. I apologize, but I was on an unintended temporary hiatus due to college applications. Thankfully now they are all done, so I can finally get back to this story! Again, I apologize for the two month gap since the last update. Without any further adieu, here is Chapter 20.**

Chapter 20: Destiny

Once they were in the Ghost Zone, the four companions made their way through the vast swirly green expanse. During their flight, Danny noticed for the first time the wary looks on Death and Destiny's faces, looks which weren't there before. Even Love seemed to realize that something was up, for she was very talkative until she entered the Ghost Zone. Danny looked up at her to ask what was wrong, but she refused to meet his gaze.

"Okay, that's it!" Danny exclaimed as he stopped short. The three girls crashed into each other as they stopped in surprise. "What are you hiding from me? And don't tell me it's nothing, Katie, because I've known you long enough to know when something is bothering you. Now, would someone like to explain why you guys look like somebody just died?"

"Well, there's been a slight change in plans," Destiny started instantly, ignoring Death's warning glare. "We were going to tell you when we got closer, but since you asked you have a right to know. Somehow, Dan seemed to have gotten word that you were had gotten stronger than he remembered, so he bulked up more than we had originally seen."

"So… he's gotten back to full strength, and we just have to be a little cleverer in our fighting, right?" Danny asked, wondering why he didn't just tell him this straight up.

"Not exactly," Katie almost whispered, "It's a bit more complicated than that. Dan is made of the ghost parts of two half ghosts combined, which makes him stronger than you as a half ghost. But in this case, the sum of the parts doesn't make up the whole."

"Which means," Destiny continued, "that he's not nearly as strong as, let's say, the strongest half-ghost in existence becoming a full ghost."

Danny wasn't exactly sure where they were going with this, so his cousin quietly added in the last missing piece.

"We got an edict from the Observants just before you came down saying that we weren't allowed to enter the fight. We can only destroy Dan once it had ended." Katie held back tears as she spoke.

Danny nodded silently as he took in the implications of what he was just told.

"Danny, you don't have to do this," Love interjected. "We can wait until he forms a definite plan, and we can defeat him through that. No one will criticize you for turning back and waiting until we have a better plan."

"She's right, you know," Katie said with a certain determination in her voice, "you could walk away right now, and wait for the moment when you can do this and there will be less to sacrifice. You don't have to a martyr all the time! If you won't do it for yourself at least think about your family, think about Sam, before you make your decision."

"I have thought about it," Danny answered defiantly. "I've thought about for years. I knew that there was a chance that one day I was going to have to make a choice between saving everyone I care about, or endangering that so that I can be a little selfish and stay with them longer, and I choose the first one, because I know that, in the end, they'll live and move on, but if I stay, then I may never give them the chance to do either. I'm going, and that's it." Danny turned to fly away, but Katie stopped him.

"Danny, wait!" She called out to him.

Danny turned around, and was caught in a giant bear hug. When the embrace stopped quickly for Katie to wipe away her tears, he looked up at her, and realized something. The hood was gone, her skeletal hands were covered by with flesh, and bright blue eyes looked back at him. Taking this cue, Danny also transformed, knowing that this would probably be the last time he would ever be able to do so. They once again embraced, but this time as family not willing to let go of each other for one final time.

"Danny, make sure you give him a fight he'll never forget, a legendary one," Katie said with a bittersweet smile, which Danny returned in kind.

"Just please do me a favor, and make sure you remember the promise you made Sam back there, okay?" Katie whispered in his ear. Danny simply nodded in return, and knowing that for the most part he was now on his own, he quickly flew into the abyss, seeking his evil self.

* * *

Danny really didn't really have to search for long. After about half an hour, he finally found the one ghost he was looking for. Dan was flying by when he spotted Danny and speeded toward him, stopping smoothly in front of the teenager.

"So, here I am," he said, his deep voice dripping with condescension. "Funny, I had heard that my younger self had gotten stronger. But, now that I see you, I see that I had no reason to believe those imbeciles, not that I ever did."

"What do you want? I've already made a vow not to become you, and there's nothing you can do to change that. You can't make me make you exist," Danny proclaimed.

Dan laughed menacingly at Danny's statement. "'Make me exist?' I no longer need your future to change for my existence to become reality, child. I exist out of time now. As for what I want; you destroyed my future and then locked me in that God forsaken thermos, preventing me from achieving my goal, not that it matters now; what do you think I want? Although, instead of destroying you, I should thank you; if you hadn't put me in that damn thing and handed me over to Clockwork, I would not exist. Oh well, too bad I'm going to destroy you anyway."

With that having been said, Dan shot a blast straight at Danny's chest. Danny screamed as the force of the blast threw him back. Danny got up, fire in his eyes, and retaliated. Thus the fight began. Danny fought hard, but Dan's nonstop fire soon made him grow weak, though he refused to show it. Finally, Dan had Danny cornered against a rock. Danny tried to escape, but found that he didn't have the energy to outrun the evil ghost.

Dan sneered at his trapped opponent. He said nothing as emotionlessly gathered all his energy in the palm of his hand and shot it directly at his brave opponent. Dan laughed coldly as Danny's body went limp. It appeared that victory was his.

"My job is done here," Dan said coldly. He began to leave, but he was interrupted

"Not quite," a voice spoke from behind him.

Dan turned around to see the boy he just defeated towering over the ruins of the battle. Dan stared at the boy, slightly confused. It was Danny, but not the same Danny he had just destroyed. Yes, he still had the white hair and green eyes, and he wore the same black and white hazmat suit, but he seemed different. This Danny glowed with an ethereal light more obvious than the one he had before. His eyes glowed like big green orbs of pure energy. This Danny was more ghostly, more powerful.

"This fight isn't over yet," Danny declared with a sense of command. His voice naturally echoed, ringing through the air.

Dan laughed derisively. "Let the games begin," he said, throwing the first punch.

This fight was much longer than the last, with neither side having the upper hand for more than a few moments. They were evenly matched, Dan's experience versus Danny's newfound strength. The battle raged on, until one defining moment changed everything.

"You know," Dan said, him currently having the upper hand, "I wonder how that little girlfriend of yours is going to react when she hears about your defeat. I bet she'll be so depressed. Had I still had emotions, I would actually feel guilty about doing that to the girl."

Danny's eyes flashed in anger. "Don't you EVER talk about Sam!" he shouted.

Danny's anger gave him the strength he needed to gain the upper half and keep it. Dan was thrown all across the ghost zone from the strength of Danny's blasts. Every time Dan was thrown into some new obstacle, Danny would hit him before he could even recover. It wasn't long before Danny spotted the three Fates in the distance, ready to finish the job.

The small nod Death gave him made the message clear; they were to take it from here. Danny left, leaving the Fates to finish the job.

The fight ended silently, without a cry uttered from either side. Danny watched the Fates slowly back away once their job was done, leaving a crumbling crater where Danny had left Dan.

Dan was now gone, for good this time. There was no thermos that contained him, no hidden place where he was sent. His existence simply ceased to be, thanks to three teenage girls and the boy that at one point was supposed to become him.

It was an odd feeling for Danny to know that his worst fear was erased, just like that. He knew it was going to take a while for him to get used to, but eventually he would…

That's when it hit him. He wouldn't have a while to get used to it. This was it. From this point on, his timeline stopped. It was official; he was a martyr. That definitely was not a career choice he had ever had planned for himself.

"Danny?" Katie called to him cautiously, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, "just in shock. Am I really…?"

"Yes," she told him gently.

"Then why am I still here? I did what I needed to, so shouldn't I, I don't know, move on or something?"

Katie smiled mischievously at her cousin's confusion. "Not yet. You still have some unfinished business to attend to. Come on Danny, let's go home."

And so the four of them journeyed back to the portal in silence, anxiously awaiting the reception they would receive once they reached the other side.

* * *

**That was the very long awaited chapter 20. Once again, I am so sorry for the delay! I never expected to have as much to do as I did. Stupid college applications! Anyway, thank you so much for reading. Please leave a review, I really like to know how I'm doing. By the way, there are only two more chapters and an epilogue left! Thank you so much for all your support guys!**

**Oh, by the way, if you can, check out **_**Fated Oneshots**_**, a collection of oneshots related to this story, including deleted scenes.**

**Happy New Year!!! It's finally 2009!**


	21. Death

**I left you with a bit of a cliffhanger, so here's chapter 21. All my normal chattyness is at the end. Enjoy!**

Chapter 21: Death

"Danny!" Sam cried as soon as she saw her boyfriend step out of the portal. She couldn't contain her joy as she practically tackled him in her embrace. They held each other tightly for as long as they could. Sam was just relieved to see him come back, while Danny just wanted to savor this last moment.

"I'm so glad you're back, Danny! You guys were taking so long that we were beginning to get worried," Sam said with a sigh of relief. Danny shyly looked at the floor in response, not exactly sure how to answer her.

"So, Dan's gone now, that's it?" Tucker asked anxiously.

"Yeah, we got him. He's gone, as in doesn't even exist gone," Danny answered quietly. His two friends breathed a sigh of relief as they celebrated this victory.

"Come on, let's go out and celebrate!" Sam suggested enthusiastically.

"Yeah, let's go! Come on, Danny, I'll do whatever you want, even if it means eating vegetables, but I know you wouldn't do that to me," Tucker teased light-heartedly. Both Sam and Tucker were happy to know that the one thing the feared most was done with and out of their lives.

"Guys," Danny called to them in nearly a whisper, "I don't think that's a good idea." Sam and Tucker looked at him quizzically. "There's something I need to talk to you about, and I'm not sure how much time I have to say it." Tucker and Sam looked at each other nervously and then slowly approached their friend.

"Sure dude, you know you can tell us anything. What's up?" Tucker's voice was comforting, and lacked its normal joking undertone. He knew whatever was going on must be really important, and that whatever it was his friend needed him to be serious for now.

"When we went in," Danny started carefully, "something happened that we weren't expecting. It changed our whole plan, and left two options: wait it out for more time to maybe think of something better, or take care of it now with certain sacrifices that we might needed to make anyway if we had waited, only we knew that if we did it now it would work."

"Sacrifices…?" Sam thought out loud, trying to get her thoughts in order. Suddenly a light bulb went off in her head, and she gasped in shock.

"Danny," she said softly as tears began to roll down her face, "change back, please."

Danny dropped his gaze at her request. He looked dejectedly at the floor as he hesitated before quietly answering.

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"Then why did you come back? How could you come back?" Sam asked in confusion. None of what was going on made any sense to her. Mentally she comprehended everything that was going on, but emotionally it just didn't click. This couldn't be happening. His cousin freaking controlled this type of stuff! It shouldn't have been allowed to happen!

"Sam," Danny lifted her chin locking her gaze with his, "I came back because I promised you I would. I said nothing would stop me, and nothing did. I love you, more than you will ever know."

"Well, I think now I have a pretty good idea." Sam smiled weakly, knowing how rare this event is, and how much it meant to both of them. They were just about to pull into each other, when a male voice echoed through the room.

"Time out," they heard the somber voice of the time ghost cry. Danny and Sam looked at each other, and then at themselves. They both had on Clockwork's amulets, the ones that allowed others beside the time ghost to exist outside the confines of the time stream. They looked around the room, only to find that it was entirely frozen in time, except for the three Fates, who were speaking to Clockwork with utterly bewildered and upset faces.

"W-what's going on?" Danny asked Clockwork in utter confusion. The ghost's presence confused him, as normally it meant either good news or bad news, and the former didn't look promising.

"With the agreement of the Observants (for once, we agreed on something), I have a proposition for you," he answered the frightened boy calmly, getting straight to the heart of the matter.

"What kind of proposition?" Danny asked, still confused as to why he decided now was a good time to bring this up.

"There is an important choice that you now face Daniel, one that neither I nor anyone else can decide for you."

Danny had no idea what he was talking about. He looked over at the Fates for help, but it was clear from their expression that understood just as much of what was going on as he did. Danny looked back at Clockwork for some sort of hint as to what the ghost was trying to hint at, but the ghost showed no sign of explaining further.

"Come," Clockwork finally said after a long pause, "I will show you what this choice is. You may bring Samantha, as this choice affects her as well. Now you three," he now directed his attention toward the three Fates, "must come as well. There is a lesson here that you must learn about the nature Fate and Time."

Bewildered, they all looked at each other, but followed the ghost to another time.

* * *

In this time, it was a sunny spring afternoon. The songs of chirping birds resounded through the air. Fully bloomed cherry blossoms dotted the park landscape which the group was currently floating over. The cheery scene was such a contradiction to the depressing and morbid one they had just come from that all but Clockwork stood there slightly dumbfounded as they adjusted to the situation at hand.

After a long and deafening silence, Danny finally spoke up for the group, asking "Where are we?"

"This is Amity Park, ten years in the future. I am sure you are wondering why I chose to show you this." Danny nodded in response, so Clockwork continued, "Do you see that couple over there? I want you to watch them, very carefully."

Danny did as he was told. They were nothing out of the ordinary, just a young, married couple, probably in their late twenties, enjoying a day out in the park. They were with laughing and playing with a little girl no older than three, who, judging by the raven hair she shared with the couple, was probably their daughter, while a baby slept in a carriage nearby. It was a typical family outing, one that happens everywhere and anywhere.

"Clockwork, it's just two parents playing with their kid, something that I could see anywhere. What's so important about them?" Danny asked, slightly miffed at being suddenly dragged here with nearly no warning.

"Take a closer look, and you'll see what link they have to you." Clockwork cryptically answered, as always. Danny rolled his eyes and looked back at the playful parents. Seriously, why does he always have to be so cryptic? Couldn't he be straightforward for once in his life, or rather afterlife? Danny left his mental ranting for later and focused on the task at hand, even though he wasn't exactly sure what it was.

"Impossible!" Katie cried out. "How does this timeline still exist? I was told… and he was told… and they told me… how did this happen?" Katie asked in awe.

Danny looked closely at the couple before hand, and his cousin's shock now made sense. Before him was himself, but older… and very much not dead.

"How?" was his stuttered response.

"The Observants, as annoying as they may be, took notice of what you did. You willingly sacrificed your happiness for the sake of everyone else, knowing that you would probably not return. They were impressed by your courage, your loyalty, and by your skillfulness during the fight. They were so impressed, in fact, that they decided to give you a very rare opportunity. They are giving you a second chance. You will return to your life, exactly as it was before all this happened."

Danny was silent, humbled by the offer before him. He was being given the chance to live again! He didn't know what to say. He looked at Sam, whose expression of dumbfounded happiness mirrored his.

"However, there is a catch, so to speak," Clockwork continued. "If you choose to take this offer, you will not live the same life that you once did. You will be coming back as my apprentice, and you must do exactly as I say. If I call, you must come, no matter what is going on at the current moment. You will have to learn to divide your time between here and the Ghost Zone, and you will be expected to spend certain lengths of time training with me. Eventually, you will be required to spend all your time with me, but that won't be for quite a few decades.

It is a difficult job, working for me. It will end up becoming a big part of your life, just ask your cousin. She spends more time doing her work for me then she lets you believe."

"Am I allowed to tell anybody?"

"You may tell your friend, Tucker, and your sister if you so wish, but I strongly encourage you not to tell anyone else."

Danny stayed silent for a minute, thinking the whole thing over. Though truly it wasn't even a contest, he wanted to appease Clockwork by thinking very carefully about what he was doing. So he spent a few tense moments in silence doing what he knew the time ghost expected of him. Finally, he decided that he had spent enough time thinking and gave an answer.

"If it means that I get to go back with Sam, then I'll do it, no matter the price." Clockwork, though he tried to hide it, gave a slight smile when the boy confirmed what he knew the answer to be.

"If that is your final decision, then I must abide by it." Clockwork opened up another portal, and gestured Sam and Danny into it.

"This will bring you two back to the exact minute I left you. You three," he now turned his attention toward the Fates, "Come with me, we have work to do."

Danny looked at them quizzically.

"Work to do?" He asked himself. It was a rhetorical question that was answered anyway.

"Yes, work to do," Katie said, pulling up her hood, "You get a second chance, but we…"

"And by 'we' we mean mostly Katie, with a little help from Jess," Molly interrupted. Katie glared at her before continuing.

"But _we_ have to do all the dirty work to make it happen. But we're happy to do it." She added brightly.

"Thanks guys." Danny smiled at them, and, with a slight wave, he and Sam set off into the portal, ready to start a new life.

* * *

**Okay, so what did you think? Was it too slow? More importantly was it way too sappy? If you have any advice or comments, please leave a review.**

**So, that's chapter 21. Originally, I had a graduation chapter planned out as the final chapter, but I think I'm just going to skip straight to the epilogue. I don't know, we'll see. If you guys have some advice on that, please let me know.**

**Before I go, I just want to thank everyone who has stuck with me this far. Thanks for everything you guys! And now I'm done being chatty, so until the next chapter!**


	22. Life

**Alright, my computer's broken so I am using my dad's, I have a ton of work I need to get done for Monday, and I just spent the past two days freezing myself in upstate New York looking at colleges. But, I am in a good enough mood to work on another chapter! This is the last real chapter of the story. After this, there is the epilogue. Enjoy!**

**Sorry this chapter is so much shorter than all my other ones, there was just less that I needed to get done in this chapter.**

Chapter 22: Life

"So let me get this straight, you died, saw the future, then Katie made you alive again, but only because now you're Clockwork's apprentice?" For some reason, Tucker had a hard time grasping this concept. One would think that after four years of dealing with Danny and his powers, he would get used to strange situations like this, but apparently this was just way too weird.

"For the hundredth time, yes!" Danny whispered angrily.

"Yeah, Tucker, it was nearly three months ago, get over it already," Sam added on in her boyfriend's defense.

"Yeah, but…"

"Shush! It's almost over!" Tucker stopped at Danny's interruption to listen to Mr. Lancer's final words.

"And now I proudly present to you Casper High's graduating class of 2009!" The bald teacher smiled broadly as he watched the students crowding the football field jump joyfully out of their seats and proudly throw their graduation caps in the air.

"We did it!" Katie ran up to her cousin and gave him a huge hug, practically tackling him. Tucker and Sam joined in, and their combined force sent the group toppling onto the ground, laughing in their mirth. Finally they got up off the ground, and went off to their families.

"Danny!" Danny trotted toward his mother, who quickly enveloped him in her embrace. "My baby boy is a gradate! Oh, I can't believe you'll be off to college so soon!" Maddie couldn't believe this was happening. Her little boy, all grown up! It was amazing how time flies by. He would be starting at Amity University in September, and she couldn't be prouder.

"I'm proud of you, son." Jack patted Danny on the back once Maddie had let go of him. He, too, couldn't believe how fast time went by. It seemed like just yesterday he was in the Fenton Lab in the basement telling Danny and his two best friends about ghosts and his then newly built Fenton Ghost Portal. It was hard to believe that that was nearly four years ago.

"Yeah, congratulations little brother. You made it!" Jazz gave her brother a quick hug to show her pride. Danny had given her a complete rundown about what had happened while she was away at school once she got back, telling her everything except the part about him being dead for a few hours. Even without that, she was still upset that he hadn't called her for help. Thankfully, she couldn't stay mad at her little brother for long, especially after what he did. Now he had made it to college, having finally pulled up his grades during the second semester of sophomore year.

Danny stayed with his family for a few minutes, enjoying their company. After all that has happened, knowing how close he came to not being here today, made this day all the more important to celebrate. Finally, he was able to leave his family for a few minutes to go speak with her girlfriend, who finally managed to sneak away from her very overprotective and proud parents. She and Tucker would both be joining Danny at Amity U in the fall, and he couldn't be happier. Upon reaching each other, Sam softly kissed him on the lips.

"What was that for?" Danny asked with a crooked smile, "Not that I don't appreciate it."

"That was because we made it. This almost didn't happen, and I am so happy that it did." Sam's statement made Danny only smile wider.

"You know," Danny responded, chuckling slightly, "I was just thinking the same thing."

"Oh! Come on, you are going to want to see this." Sam grabbed Danny's hand and pulled him toward a part of the field where his best friend seemed to be shyly speaking to his cousin. Finally, unknown by the other couple, Danny and Sam got close enough to listen to their conversation.

"So, Katie, can I ask you something?" Tucker's shaking voice showed his nervousness.

"Sure, what?" She answered with a smile.

"I was wondering if, uh, you would, uh, want to go out sometime?" Tucker nervously waited for an answer.

"Sure." Tucker was about to do a victory dance, but it appeared that Katie hadn't finished yet, "There's just one thing." Tucker was not expecting what happened next.

Tucker stared at her blankly when, without a second's pause, Katie slapped him upside the head. Danny and Sam began to laugh hysterically, alerting their presence to the two teenagers who had been speaking.

"What was that for!" Tucker complained, rubbing where she had hit him.

"That was for taking six months! You made fun of them for years, and now look at you; it took you six months to suck it up! I was about two weeks away from passing the nickname 'clueless' onto you."

"Okay, I guess I deserve that," Tucker said, laughing a bit, "but it still hurt."

"Oh, there you are!" They all turned around to see Danny's mom running toward them with a camera. "You all look so grown up! Everybody get together, I want to take a picture of you all in your caps and gowns."

The four teenagers complied to her request, gathering together in a line. Katie was on the far left, her arm on Tucker's waist, while Tucker draped his arms on both hers and Danny's shoulders. Danny draped on arm on Tucker's shoulder, and while the other held Sam close, which Sam returned in kind. The small group smiled blissfully into the camera as they kept their tight formation.

Finally Mrs. Fenton took the picture, capturing this split second in time. When the picture was developed, it showed four young adults smiling happily about the bright futures now open to them, whatever Fate intends them to be.

* * *

**So, that's it. That is the final chapter. Wow, I can't believe it's finally over. Well, almost over, there's still the epilogue! I just want to thank everyone who has stuck by me through this whole thing, especially the people who have added me and/ or this story to their favorites or alert lists and those who have reviewed; you guys rock!**


	23. Epilogue: Fated

**Wow, now this is really the end. Author's note is at the end. Enjoy!**

Epilogue: Fated

_So, that is my cousin's whole story, the one that most people will not tell you. This is not because the general populace does not like to talk about it, or even because we wanted to keep it quiet for publicity reasons (to be honest, I really don't remember even considering that). The truth is that we never found any reason to tell anyone. Besides, who would believe us anyway?_

_In the end, I guess everything worked out for the best. It is now ten years later, and we're all happy and healthy. Life goes on. Life's funny that way, I guess. One moment your world seems to be crashing down around you and the next…_

|-0-0-0-|

"What are you writing?"

I closed my notebook quickly once I heard the smooth voice of my cousin next to me. I didn't want him finding out what I was doing, mainly because I knew that he would protest it vehemently, and I didn't want to deal with his objections yet.

"Nothing that you need to worry about," I answered coolly. "What are you doing here anyway, aren't spending the day with Sam and the kids?"

"Yeah, I am. It's the first nice day since that huge rainstorm last week, so Sam thought it would be a good idea to take Mel and Jay to the park. So when I saw you here, I sent them ahead so that I could come and annoy you." Danny had that smirk on his face, the one he always gets when he tries to be annoying. It's amazing how some people never change, no matter how old they get.

"Gee, I feel so honored," I answered back sarcastically.

"So, how's Tuck doing?" He asked almost immediately.

"You guys are best friends. You talk to each other every day. You _work_ with each other every day over at Axion. Why are you asking me?" I asked incredulously. Seriously, I think Danny sees Tucker more than I do, and I'm his girlfriend!

"Um, mainly because I don't live with him," he stated as if it was completely obvious.

"Whatever. He's doing well. Still snores like a pig, though." We both started laughing, reveling in our mirth.

"So, how is Sam?" I asked once our laughter calmed down.

"She's good. She's trying to run her eco-supply company from home so that she could spend more time with Melanie and James. So far it's doing well, so everything's good. Oh, by the way, you're coming to Jay's birthday party next week, right?"

"Of course I am! I wouldn't miss his first birthday for anything," I said enthusiastically. "I especially want to see what your parents get him." I added with a mischievous smile.

I laughed quietly as Danny shuddered at the last gift his parents had given to his kids. It was a ghost-proof doll they had made for Melanie for her third birthday that would automatically attack any ghost that came near her. It worked too well apparently, as it happened to have attacked Danny when he came home late that night after a particularly nasty fight with Skulker, who still has the sick desire to hang Danny's pelt on his wall.

"Anyway," Danny said, breaking the silence, "disturbing memories aside, I really should go. Sam's probably thinks that you killed me or something."

"Oh ha ha, very funny," was my sarcastic reply as I got up to send him off. "Tell Sam I said hi, and give everyone a big hug for me, alright?"

"Sure I'll tell her. I'll see you around." Danny and I hugged before finally letting him go on his own way.

As I watched him walk away, I thought about how much we all had grown and matured. Danny's married with kids, Jazz has her own psychiatric office, Tucker's running the research and development team at Axion, Sam has her own business, I run the linguistics department at the Amity Museum of Natural History, my brother and sister are out of college; we're all adults now. It's kind of weird to know that we have been through so much. It seems like just yesterday I was excitedly writing an email to Danny about moving back here, yet it was over a decade ago.

"Thinking hard about something?" An ancient voice spoke suddenly, startling me out of my musings.

"Geeze, Clockwork, give me some warning next time!" The ghost, currently in the form of a toddler, simply snickered at my surprise. "I was just thinking about how much everything has changed over the past few years. How all of this never came to be."

"Almost never came to be? There was never any doubt of this happening. See for yourself." He handed me a familiar thick leather book with gold hieroglyphics on the cover which were just as bright as that Christmas morning when I first received it. Once I had the book in my hands, he opened it to a page covered with notes. This was the prophecy that whose meaning had intrigued for so long, the reason why I had an obsession with that one temple my parents were researching.

"Read" the now middle age ghost commanded. Thus, I began to read aloud what was written on the page before me, translated, of course.

"_In order for the world to be renewed, Death will unintentionally and unknowingly create the Protector, the one who can cross between this life and the next. The Protector will be tried and tested in many ways, until finally the evil he accidentally created and captured is released once more. When this comes, the Protector will succeed, but at a great price. He will evade his creator by submitting himself to Death. Thus this is how the Protector will come to take on his true role_." When I had finished I looked up at Clockwork, hoping for a clue as to the meaning behind this.

"Okay, so there's a prophecy that says something similar to what happened. While that's nice and all, what does it have to do with anything? There are thousands of these 'Protector' legends all over the ancient world. Besides, I didn't 'create' Danny as a Protector in any way shape or form. It's not like I caused him to get his powers or anything." I was firm in my statement. My arms were crossed, my expression slightly confused.

"Are you sure you did nothing, not even adjust the settings on the portal to emit just enough energy to force ectoplasm to combine with human DNA without killing an individual?" I stared at Clockwork in disbelief. He was alluding to the last time I had stayed with my cousin before moving back. It was the week before his school started, and my aunt and uncle had just finished building the portal.

"But you told me to do that! You said that it was of the utmost importance, and that only I could do it! You told me it was my duty to…" That is when the figurative light bulb went off in my head.

"You had this all planed out, didn't you? You knew this was going to happen, all of it, from the very beginning. You asked me to adjust the portal setting, knowing that Danny would later go in and turn it on. You gave him a second chance with the CATs, knowing that he would need the experience to fight Dan, because you knew he would have been created anyway. Every step, every fight, every small event, was planned, wasn't it?"

"No, Katherine, I didn't _plan_ anything," was his reply to my accusation. "I just made sure Time followed certain paths in order for the right events to occur."

"That's planning," I replied acidly.

"No, it's mere opportunistic manipulation," he responded cooly. I skeptically raised my eyebrow.

"Before the opportunity presented itself?"

"You know that for me, time is not linear, nor circular, nor has any particular shape. Time is ambiguous and constant, so the opportunity is always present. Time never changes." As he said this, he gazed up toward the sky. Following his gaze, I realized what he meant, and I gave a small smile.

Up above us, or rather above the clearing where I knew my cousin and his family was, was us; decade younger versions of us, to be exact. Here, at this very moment, was the past mingling with the present, even if it is for such a miniscule amount of time.

I turned to Clockwork to thank him, but he had already gone. I heaved a small sigh, a smile still on my lips, and returned to my bench to continue working.

At least, my intention was to continue working, but I got a little distracted when I saw a small piece of paper fall from my notebook. Picking it up, I found that it was an old photograph.

I smiled as I looked at the four smiling kids in the picture. There was Tucker, smiling as if he had just one a million bucks. Danny was next to him, pride evident on his features as he and Sam held each other blissfully, determined to not let go. Then, at the other side of Tucker, was me, smiling like a fool, happy to just be there. To the casual observer, it looks like we are four teenagers simply celebrating our high school graduation, happy to finally get out of here and go to college.

But we know that there is more to it than just that. We weren't just celebrating the fact that we made it through high school. We were celebrating that we made it here, to this very moment. We were celebrating that life goes on, that we still had life. Those smiles didn't show just our pride. They showed relief, love, and a determination to go on.

I stared at that picture for a long time, thinking about where we were then and where we are now. I don't think we had any idea of where we were going that day, but we charged ahead anywhere, and took on whatever life threw at us. I think that, just maybe, that's what's meant by fate. It's not where you end up, but the journey you took to get there that matters.

I finally realized that I wasn't going to get any work done, so, having given up, and I got up, and walked through the park. I followed various twists and turns, not really thinking about where I was going, until finally I came upon a small meadow. Now before you ask, this isn't some random _Walden_ reference, I'm not that deep.

Anyway, this small meadow happened to be the one my cousin and his family were playing in. I smiled joyfully as I watched them merrily play. I observed them quietly, pondering all the years that have passed, everything that had led to this moment.

Through everything that has happened, both the good and the bad, I think everything has turned out for the best. Everything has happened just as it was fated to be.

* * *

**So this is it. I just want to thank everyone who has joined me for the ride. Thank you for 77 reviews, over 4,000 hits, 12 favorites, and 14 alerts. I hope you enjoyed this little fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's taken me a year and five months, but I finally finished this, and boy what a ride it was! Thank you again to everyone who has thought **_**Fated**_** worthy of their time.**


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